The latest crackdown on retailers is tackling sellers of counterfeit and non-duty-paid tobacco products, including sales to children.
The Police and Crime Commissioner, and Worcestershire County Council are working together as part of the Safer Worcestershire partnership project, to build safer communities.
It is part of a new initiative backed by Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion, working with several local authorities in Worcestershire.
This latest crackdown has seen Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils coming together with the two partners. Each partner has provided £5,000 to support County Council Trading Standards officers and District and Borough Council solicitors to work together.
This has led to Magistrates using their powers to order the closure of premises found to be causing a nuisance to their communities by selling illegal tobacco products and potentially selling to children.
The initial phase of the project will take place in Redditch and Bromsgrove. If successful, it is hoped the four other districts will allow this activity to be used across the whole of Worcestershire.
Karen May, Worcestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Communities and Leader of Bromsgrove District Council said: “Our County Council Trading Standards team already works closely with local policing colleagues on this work.
“By adding our district legal teams into this mix, we can take forward the evidence gathered by those enforcing the law to get the courts to close these premises.
“Closing premises for up to three months might allow breaking the cycle of supply in some of our more vulnerable communities where smoking prevalence remains high.
“This initiative has been developed because these closure powers only sit with the Police and District Councils in our area.
“Tobacco use is still one of the greatest contributors to health inequalities across our communities and this lucrative, organised criminal activity takes advantage of this and undermines our attempts to get people to quit.
“We need to use all the tools at our disposal as local authorities to tackle this.”
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion added: “It’s important that rogue retailers who sell illegal tobacco products, including to those that are underage are unable to profit from illegal activity.
“By supporting the councils in Worcestershire to work together, Trading Standards and district legal colleagues will have the resources they need to pursue these lawbreakers through this form of legal process.”
