Better investment in mental health care is essential to support our community from cradle to grave but, more importantly, investment must go to acting on findings to make positive changes.
The crime and disorder act 1998 defines anti-social behaviour (ASB) as one's behaviour which "caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household" as the perpetrator. Official examples of ASB, to name a few are: Littering or drugs paraphernalia; trespassing; street drinking; vhicle nuisance or inappropriate use; rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour.
A parent or guardian faces 18 years of decision making about a wide range of issues on behalf of their child. Many of those decisions can have broad ramifications and since accurate assessment of risk is challenging for the vast majority of people we need a framework to support our decision making. We rely on experts gathering, analysing and presenting the conclusions from vast amounts of data to provide guidance on topics ranging from education to nutrition. But, how do we decide who is an expert and how do we react to the variety of ways guidance is proposed or imposed? For example, why does the law in the UK mandate your child must wear a seatbelt but only recommends they must be vaccinated?
A Brentwood councillor has questioned the state of the pavement on the town's High Street and believes the failure to maintain it is causing a serious trip hazard.
Controlled drugs are the scourge of our modern society and in most parts of the world their use is controlled and regulated. In the UK, possession and dealing in controlled drugs is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In broad terms, possession of controlled drugs amounts to a criminal offence which potentially carries a prison sentence. It necessarily follows that this legislation drives the consumption of controlled drugs underground.
