Cornwall Council is looking to extend its orders to stop anti-social street drinking until 2026 – but admits it doesn’t know how successful the scheme has been.
The council has said that any data collected by Devon & Cornwall Police in relation to enforcement of its alcohol Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) is not shared with the local authority.
A town councillor has said the decision to consult public bodies about the PSPO extension without knowing how effective the powers are is “bonkers”.
Cornwall Council is asking town and parish councils for views on the renewal of the countywide PSPO prohibiting street drinking associated with anti-social behaviour. The current PSPO expires on October 1, 2023 and the council is seeking to renew it for three years until October 1, 2026.
PSPOs are powers introduced by local authorities (under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014) to help deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a particular area that is damaging to the local community’s quality of life. The order gives the police and authorised officers of the council powers to confiscate alcohol from a minority of drinkers whose excessive drinking causes problems for others in public spaces.
These powers are not intended to disrupt peaceful activities and are used explicitly for addressing nuisance or annoyance associated with the consumption of alcohol in a public place.
Richard Stokoe, who sits on Marazion Town Council, felt it was imperative to find out how successful the orders had been before taking part in the consultation. He said: “The town council received a query on whether the current PSPO for alcohol should be extended until 2026.
"However, there is no information contained that sets out whether it has been used, how often, how successfully. To answer the questions Cornwall Council has asked, one needs data and detail.”
He sent a request to Cornwall Council under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) to find out how many fines had been issued under the alcohol Public Space Protection Order for each year since 2014. He was shocked by the reply.
The response stated: “Cornwall Council does not hold this information. Whilst the legislation permits authorised officers of the council to issue a fixed penalty notice, enforcement within Cornwall is normally undertaken by Devon and Cornwall Police. Any data collected by Devon and Cornwall Police regarding any actions they may take with regard to enforcement of this PSPO is not routinely shared with Cornwall Council nor is it collected by Cornwall Council.”
It added that Cornwall Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team would however consider the individual support needs for individuals who may have potentially breached the order in an effort to tackle the causes of their detrimental behaviour.
Mr Stokoe added: “Am I missing something? I feel like I am going bonkers when they give an answer like this and yet are proposing to extend the booze ban for another three years. They are making policy without key data to prove whether the policies are effective or being enforced.”
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A spokesperson for the council said: “Cornwall Council and Devon and Cornwall Police are committed to addressing the issues caused by alcohol-related anti-social behaviour in our communities, and the PSPO is a key element of our approach.
“The order allows the police and designated officials to use a number of measures to tackle alcohol-related anti-social behaviour, including issuing a verbal warning, or the confiscation of alcohol. Therefore the success of the orders cannot be quantified by the number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued, as these are often only used as a last resort.”
Devon & Cornwall Police support the renewal of the PSPO. A spokesperson for the force echoed the council’s comment, saying: “Enforcement is always a last resort. Engagement and education, for example, won’t be recorded as such for data but is probably the biggest part of the work officers do around the PSPO.”
We have sent a FOI request to the police force asking for the latest data concerning the enforcement of the orders in Cornwall.
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