Photo: Lisa (far left) with other guests and host Jo Coburn (centre)
Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Lisa Townsend, joined the BBC’s Politics Live panel last week, talking about key topics of the day with host Jo Coburn.
Lisa appeared on last Thursday’s show (9th March) with fellow panellists Labour MP Fleur Anderson, Ellie Mae O’Hagan from the Good Law Project and the Telegraph’s Annabel Denham.
Starting with a discussion around Russian tennis players at Wimbledon, followed by the cost of childcare, the panel were then joined by Professor Ian Hamilton to talk about nitrous oxide. They discussed the outcome of a review by the Independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs who have not recommended a ban on the substance.
Lisa highlighted the links between nitrous oxide use and ASB and welcomed the recent government review around whether the substance should be banned.
Talking on the ASB links to nitrous oxide, Lisa said “A huge issue with [nitrous oxide], take away the health side effects, is it’s link to anti-social behaviour, and I think the government is absolutely right to be looking at anti-social behaviour in the way it is very seriously at the moment.”
Whilst supportive of legislative changes to make the purchasing of nitrous oxide more difficult, Lisa expressed reluctance to legislate bans on substances and items without evidence to suggest this is the best way to tackle the problem.
Lisa said “I’m in favour of evidence based policing and evidence based legislation, particularly when it comes to drugs…
“I absolutely welcome the council’s review, I think it’s really really important that we do look into this…I slightly take issue with this idea that [using nitrous oxide] is relatively benign, because we know that actually a lot of the side effects are really quite dangerous, including potentially death.”
She also explained that policing is seeing an increase in accidents on the road - including those resulting in serious and even fatal injury- where drivers were driving under the influence of nitrous oxide.
Discussing the broader question of whether banning drugs does ever really work, Lisa said “clearly what we’ve been doing for the last 50 years, 100 years, doesn’t work, and I do welcome reviews into this.
“It’s very very difficult because it’s a very emotive subject, but particularly when it comes to things like cannabis and like nitrous oxide, we do need to be led by the evidence that is coming from the experts and I’m afraid on this not necessarily politicians”
If you missed the programme, you can catch up on BBC iPlayer here.
