Cllr Judith Guthrie
TOWN Hall chiefs at Warrington look set to adopt tough new measures to combat the use of new psychoactive substances – better known as legal highs – in the town centre and neighbouring areas.
A public space protection order (PSPO) will be introduced in the town centre and parts of Bewsey and Whitecross and Fairfield and Howley if a recommendation is accepted by members of the borough council’s executive board next Monday.
It will mean restrictions can be imposed either comprehensively or targeted on specific behaviours by particular groups and or at specified times.
A breach of a PSPO can result in the offender receiving a fixed penalty notice of up to £100 or a fine of up to £1,000 on prosecution.
A report by Cllr Judith Guthrie, the council’s lead member for public protection, to be considered by the board, reveals that more than 260 separate incidents involving the use of “legal highs” have been reported at Warrington.
Ambulance crews have attended 46 incident and more than 40 witness statements have been gather by the police, detailing the alarm and distress caused to members of the public by people using new psychoactive substances (NPS).
The statements come from a variety sources including business owners, workers from the YMCA and the Gateway. A number of NPS users have given emotive statements about the effect NPS addiction has had on their lives.
Warrington YMCA had to close for a full day for the first time in 31 years because of anti-social behaviour caused by the use of NPS.
A survey has shown that 86 per cent of people support the use of a PSPO to deter people from using NPS and 68 per cent regard NPS as a big or fairly big problem in Warrington.
However, a minority of people feel adopting a PSPO will simply move the problem elsewhere or lead to people being unfairly challenged by the police in the mistaken belief that NPS is involved – particularly in areas where there are pubs and clubs. The executive board is being recommended to approve the introduction of a PSPO but to agree to review the issue in 12 months’ time.
*The term “legal high” is inaccurate and misleading. Most are in fact illegal.
1 Comment
Whether or not the term legal high is misleading, the proposed PSPOs should issued in relation to the use of any “substance that causes alarm and distress to members of the public”. The list of those substances should include alcohol as well as NPSs, since they are both likely to produce the unacceptable behaviour that is the cause of the alarm and distress.