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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Police review Asbo criticism
Jo Duckles Oxford Mail
Thursday 10 Aug 2006 Oxford's police commander has accepted a judge's damning criticism of the way an application for an antisocial behaviour order was handled. Chief Supt David McWhirter has vowed to take each case on its merits after a judge rejected an application for an Asbo against a council tenant found with thousands of pounds worth of cannabis in his flat. Judge Charles Harris last week rejected the application against Philip Pledge, of Strawberry Path, Blackbird Leys, warning the city council and police it was wrong for the council to substitute for the police in criminal proceedings. Mr McWhirter said the judge's comments would be considered when police, in partnership with the council, reviewed future any Asbo applications. continued... He said: "We note his comments and wherever there's a comment from a judge, we will think carefully about it and how it affects our decision-making process. "The Asbos are a tactical tool available to us and the Government has brought them in as a way to achieve a pressure on neighbours. "We need to judge each case on its merits, whether it's an antisocial behaviour order or a charge which goes before the court. "We will continue to use Asbos on drug dealers where we consider it appropriate, but will obviously think about the comments that he has made first." Judge Harris also questioned whether growing cannabis plants at home caused any more offence and nuisance to neighbours than tomato plants. Mr McWhirter said: "It may be conceivable that if you're sitting at home growing a little amount of cannabis, minding your own business, it doesn't cause a problem. However, if people are coming to buy the drugs it can cause a lot of nuisance. "The judge makes a sensible point. We need to keep a sense of perspective in relation to drugs." Asbo applications in Oxford are taken to the court by the city council, once police have identified suspected drug dealers or users. A survey of residents in Blackbird Leys, by the Neighbourhood Action Team, found that evicting drug dealers was one of the top three concerns. A spokesman for Oxford City Council said the judge's comments would not alter its Asbo policy. She said: "It states in the Antisocial Behaviour Act that when possession proceedings are taking place we can apply for an antisocial behaviour order on the back of those proceedings. There doesn't have to be a criminal case for us to apply for an Asbo." http://www.oxfordmail.net/ REF: http://ccguide.org.uk/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=11568
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