Government laughing gas ban will be 'useless without more police funding'
The Government's ban on laughing gas will be "useless" unless local police funding is increasing, a frustrated local councillor complained.
Cradley and Wollescote Councillor Richard Body has complained for years about discarded nitrous oxide cannisters but believes the Government ban will be impossible to enforce.
He told the Express & Star: "The Government can pass any law they want but if there is not the police to enforce it then it will be totally useless.
"Many residents are angry about the littering problem of laughing gas, they are everywhere from local parks and alleys to strewn across the beauty spots of Clent which I see every weekend when I walk my dogs up there.
"However, how many people have actually been fined for littering these things, almost no-one, which again shows there is no point having a severe punishment for anything if there is no-one to enforce it."
Councillor Body added: "In May 2010 in Halesowen there were 34 reported sexual and criminal offences but in May 2022 there were 187 reports for the same thing which shows we have just not got the police officers to enforce the law.
"You can ban anything, alcohol causes a lot of problems but who would take any notice if it was banned. People are going to carry on taking laughing gas and throwing away the cannisters because they know there is no chance a police officer will catch them in the act."
Announcing the laughing gas ban will be part of the Government's new anti-social clampdown, the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove explained the ban was long overdue.
He said: “I think any of us who have had the opportunity to walk through our parks in our major cities will have seen these little canisters, these silver canisters which are examples of people not only despoiling public spaces but also people taking a drug which can have a psychological and neurological affect and one that contributes to anti-social behaviour overall.”
The Government is expected to announce the trial in 10 areas of a concept called 'immediate justice', with the aim of rolling it out across England and Wales next year.
The nitrous oxide cannisters which people abuse by inhaling via a balloon are legally used by the baking industry to create whipped cream, which is why possession of them has not been declared illegal until now.
In March the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) published a report, commissioned by the Home Office in 2021, which found laughing gas "should not be subjected to control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971".
Sandwell Council deputy leader Councillor Bob Piper introduced a confiscation and anti-social behaviour order concerning nitrous oxide 18 months ago.
He said: "Nitrous oxide is known to be dangerous and is linked to anti-social behaviour. Our confiscation order certainly reduced the problem in Sandwell.
"The littering of these canisters we find lying around is potentially dangerous for animals and young children who may pick them up. Also for people mowing the grass, they can be quite damaging."
Much stronger 'Smartwhip' bottles, which are over 76 times more powerful than the small cannisters, have become more popular in the last 12 months which has seen an increase in A&E and the advent of 'whip mouth' which alters a user's voice.
