...and sniffer dogs to visit pubs and clubs in crackdown
A CRACKDOWN on drugs being taken into pubs and clubs is being launched in Teignbridge.
Trained sniffer dogs will be taken into licensed premises across the district to hunt out any illegal substance taking.
The scheme has been carried out elsewhere in the force to great effect, say police.
The campaign is being launched under the PADS (Pubs Against Drugs) initiative.
One of the key aims behind the crackdown is to support pubs in their responsibilities under the Licensing Act.
Landlords are being given posters and stickers to show any would-be users they are supporting the scheme.
The work is being carried out by Teignbridge's Partners and Communities Together team which has been created to drive down anti-social behaviour and increase public confidence in police.
It is being launched in Bovey Tracey, Buckfastleigh and Moretonhampstead before it is rolled out across the district and into the Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Dawlish and Chudleigh areas.
Insp Ian Curson, head of the police team, said: "This initiative is a good example of how the police are working closely with the licensing department and Teignbridge Council to tackle drug misuse in our public houses.
"This is a high visibility approach to tackling drugs misuse within our public houses that is part of our ongoing activity intended to send a clear message that drugs in Teignbridge will not be tolerated."
Police say up to 15 licensees across Teignbridge have shown support for the initiative.
PADS was tested in Buckfastleigh, Ashburton and Bovey Tracey last July. Officers visited a number of premises within each town but nothing was found.
It has also been operating in Plymouth and Exeter.
Sue Ewan, the licensee of Enigma and Hush nightclub in Newton Abbot, chairs the Late Night Forum, which represents licensees throughout Teignbridge.
She said: "We think this is a very good idea. Police have the resources available to them to identify if there is a problem.
"We conduct random searches here but the police dog would be able to go up and down the queue a lot quicker.
"It would make people think twice if they were tempted to bring any drugs out with them."
A spokesman for Teignbridge Council, the licensing authority, said: "The use and sale of drugs can have a very real damaging effect on people's lives, so we're very supportive of the new scheme.
"We're happy to see the police taking clear preventative action, which we are sure will be carried out with full respect to the vast majority of law-abiding customers and conscientious pub landlords in the area."
5 Comments
by karen, newton
Friday, November 20 2009, 7:32PM
“This is so ridiculously heavy handed,the worse they are on is a bit of coke but the majority will have just had a smoke, the junkies do not go to the pub and use. Minor drug use should not be costing the thousands of pounds that are going into these checks. Train stations, pubs, lemon grove and the phoenix center in exeter. All these places have been swarmed with police but nobody gets done as most people take what they want before they go out. This is probably something that is being done to get a maximum number of arrests (they wish)without standing about in the rain or having to tackle drunks who are up for a tussle. It is a fact that the drugs they may get a whiff of are not anywhere near as dangerous as the idiots that have consumed pints of lager and beat people up. Sort it out coppers and start hanging around the streets at closing time, start driving around popular routes home and estates and try catching some of the violent thugs in action.How many people have been caught withenough"drugs" to warrant all this money being spent? These people take an E or have a smoke to chill out, not to attack others. It is the drunks that walk the streets that make me frightened and i would feel safer in a pub or walking home with someone on pot or E's. The police force is a business no longer a service and the government seem to be treating us all like we actually belong to them”
by Len Viaduct, Brixham
Friday, November 20 2009, 3:30PM
“Dear Linebacker
Are you absolutely sure that's what they are doing?
Do you mean they are jacking-up, or whatever the younger generation call it.
In my day we made our own entertainment - the youngsters of today don't know they are born - this really gets my gander up!”
by Len Viaduct, Brixham
Friday, November 20 2009, 3:29PM
“Dear Linebacker
Are you absolutely sure that's what they are doing?
Do you mean they are jacking-up, or whatever the younger generation call it.
In my day we made our own entertainment - the youngsters of today don't know they are born - this all gets my gander up!”
by Doc, Torre
Friday, November 20 2009, 12:57PM
“How much is that doggie in the Union?
The one with the coke-spotting tail
How much is that doggie in the Market?
I do hope that doggie¿s for sale
I read in the papers, there are drug-fiends
With eyes that shine bright in the dark
Now the cops have a doggie that¿ll spot them
And scare them away with one bark.
How much is that doggie in the Lokie?
The one with the hash-spotting tail
How much is that doggie in the White Hart?
I do hope that doggie¿s for sale
If you don't want to see bunnies or kitties
Nor want to see a parrot that talks
Please don¿t take those pills or eat mushrooms
You can't take a goldfish for walks.
How much is that doggie in the Farmer?
The one with the E-spotting tail
How much is that doggie in the Abbot?
I do hope that doggie¿s for sale
So when you take a trip to Newton Abbot
You should not take your stash when you roam
The cops have a doggie in Enigma
And you know you wont make it back home.”
by Linebacker, Paignton
Friday, November 20 2009, 12:19PM
“They should do this in Torbay. I am tired of going to the gents and hearing two or three people in a cubicle sniffing, coughing and giggling. For those of yout hat are not in the know, that's people doing Cocaine. It is rife in every club in the Bay.”