A crime-fighting community councillor has vowed to drive the drugs menace from the streets of a Perthshire town.
Bob Curran, recently elected chairman of Coupar Angus Community Council, has urged locals to get in touch with him with information about dealers and users. He has set up a website dedicated to the cause, allowing people to contact him with tips, which can be passed to the police for investigation.
The ex-Commando said: ”What I’ve found is that people are scared to have the police come to their door. When the van is parked outside people assume things which may not be true. And if someone involved in drugs sees a van at an address and then is busted a couple of hours later, they can put two and two together.
”Coupar Angus is a small place and these things are noticed and spoken about. This gives people the chance to get in touch with me and then I can pass things on to the police. It’s not grassing it’s cutting a cancer out before it’s too late.”
He said the idea has not been greeted enthusiastically by Tayside Police, which would prefer direct contact with informants. But he said the police were satisfied that their own and the anonymous Crimestoppers numbers have been advertised on the site.
Mr Curran added: ”I wouldn’t say that drugs are a massive problem but it’s there and you can see it and it needs to be dealt with. I notice a lot of joint stubs lying on the ground when I walk my dog in the Causewayend area and they smoke joints in the street like they’re roll-up cigarettes.
”I’m trying to make as many people aware as possible and give them another avenue for action to be taken.”
He said he has had two pieces of information passed to him already which have been forwarded to police.
Mr Curran also stressed the initiative one of several he has planned in coming weeks is his own idea and nothing to do with the community council. A longer term effort in the former boxing champion’s fight against youth crime is the establishment of a club or community centre for young residents.
He said: ”When I served in Ireland there was a disco where people of all faiths came together under a strict set of rules. You would see them dancing and chatting together and then a couple of days later, they would be back throwing bricks at each other.
”I’m not saying Coupar Angus is anything like that bad but it showed me what could be achieved if there is a focus for kids’ energy instead of alcohol or drugs.
”I would love to see some type of community centre in the town not by spending millions we clearly don’t have, but by reviewing the abundance of halls we already have, upgrading them, then using each hall for a differing purpose.”