PEOPLE are snorting cocaine in Penistone pub toilets with ‘even teenagers walking out in disgust’, a meeting between the community and police officers was told.
But a call for undercover police to go into the pubs to tackle the issue was rebuffed. “That’s not going to happen any time soon,” Insp Andrew Norton said at the Police and Community Together session in Penistone.
As the simmering row over drugs surfaced once again after being raised at other recent meetings, David Wood of Penistone Community Forum had said: “People are snorting coke in pub toilets. Send undercover police in there. Drugs are being passed every night of the week. Cars come in from other areas and there are no police around, no-one to stop it.”
Insp Norton said officers are to share information with Penistone Grammar School and the community in a bid to generate specific intelligence.
As at previous meetings, he said there is nothing to suggest a major drugs problem in Penistone.
“We are working with partners and if we find people are dealing we will do warrants and targeted interventions,” he said. “If education is needed we will work on that. We don’t want to crimininalise young people unduly.
“But we will take strong action against dealers.”
Resident Margaret Cotterill said: “A young mum came to the last meeting begging for help in steering her son away from drugs. He is being led astray.”
Insp Norton said: “We don’t want to go steaming in and not have support in place. We can help vulnerable families and individuals. But we can’t always come and shout about it for operational reasons.”
Community safety team leader Mark Miller said action was taken over Christmas and a number of people dealt with.
Jeff Hill of Churches Together said Penistone Grammar principal Paul Crook had admitted he has about six pupils being checked about drugs and that it is often ex-students who are pushing.
“We need a way of getting the kids to tell us what is happening so we can protect those who need it,” he said.
Insp Norton said: “We need to separate the victims from the dealers. We don’t want to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. We are working with the school. We have to give people chances and that’s what it is about. That is neighbourhood policing. Less resources, but more focused. If that doesn’t work, the next step is enforcement.”
Mr Hill said: “Stop messing about. Drugs are floating around. If even one child dies we are all in this together. Don’t have an innocence about what is happening.”
Insp Norton responded: “We are intelligence-led. Give us the information.”
Mr Wood said: “Much antisocial behaviour is fuelled by drugs. Surely we should be stopping them coming in. Take the emphasis from the Market Barn and patrol areas where they are coming in.
“You know who these people are. Take them out of the equation. Solve the problem.”
Suggesting that Pubwatch representatives should be invited to a meeting, he said: “Drugs need to be eliminated. If landlords are allowing it to go on it’s against the law. Young people are watching adults snort coke in pubs and then walking out in disgust.”
Insp Norton reiterated his call to ‘give us intelligence’ which will allow police to ‘hit offenders on location’.
