Power to tackle anti-social street drinking extended in Cornwall

Powers to control anti-social behaviour as a result of people drinking alcohol on Cornwall's streets have been extended by Cornwall Council. A neighbourhoods scrutiny committee agreed to continue the public space protection orders around the consumption of alcohol in public for another three years.

In May the council consulted town and parish councils, Devon and Cornwall Police, the Safer Cornwall partnership and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Drug and Alcohol Action Team for views on the renewal of the countywide Public Space Protection (Alcohol Consumption in Designated Public Places) Order (PSPO) prohibiting street drinking associated with anti-social behaviour.

The current PSPO expires on October 1, 2023 and the council was seeking to renew it for three years until October 1, 2026.

A PSPO allows police and anti-social behaviour officers employed by the council to ask individuals to stop drinking and have their alcoholic drinks confiscated if they are deemed to be acting anti-socially. It is an offence to fail to comply with a request to stop drinking or surrender alcohol and can result in a fixed penalty notice and other measures such as criminal behaviour orders.

The meeting on Thursday, July 13 at Lys Kernow / New County Hall in Truro heard that 80% of respondents to the consultation stated they had witnessed drunken rowdy behaviour and other anti-social behaviour as a result of people drinking in the areas where they work or live.

As councillors unanimously agreed to renew the PSPO for another three years, Cllr Jim McKenna said: "The town centres get quite a lot of attention but a lot of these areas include villages and peripheral areas of towns. If some effort could be made to widen the net that would be appreciated."

He was told that anti-social behaviour officers are being encouraged to visit more rural areas as well as town centres.

The decision came two months after Cornwall Council admitted it didn't know exactly how successful the scheme has been as data collected by Devon and Cornwall Police in relation to the enforcement of PSPOs is not shared with the local authority.

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 May's 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 and 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."

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."

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 and Cornwall Police 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."