Zero-tolerance policy 'part of a worrying trend'

Police tactics to tackle alcohol-related violence in west Suffolk have been branded 'punishment without crime' by civil rights campaigners, and part of a 'worrying trend'.

From Friday police in west Suffolk will be able to ban people either from a particular location or an entire town centre if officers think they might cause trouble. Police fear levels of alcohol and drugs related violence Bury St Edmunds, Sudbury, Mildenhall and Newmarket are creeping up and claim the new 'Direction to Leave' notices will stop people causing trouble around pubs and clubs and make town centres safer.

But Anna Fairclough, legal officer at the campaign group Liberty claims the new measures represent a dangerous infringement on peoples' rights. “This is yet another example of 'cart before the horse' punishment without a crime. The people of Suffolk may think these powers have nothing to do with them as they go about their business but experience teaches us otherwise. There is already a very worrying trend of police using these measures where it is clearly not warranted.”

Read the rest of this item from the East Anglia Daily Times here

Tweet