Not a single driver fined for smoking in the car with children

POLICE forces are choosing not to enforce a new law protecting children from smoking in cars, figures suggest.

Legislation introduced last October makes it illegal to smoke in a vehicle carrying anyone under 18.

Making it a criminal offence was hailed as a landmark in protecting children from secondhand smoke, which is linked to serious longterm health problems.

But in the first seven months of the legislation, just three police forces in England and Wales reported incidents and all were dealt with via verbal warnings.

They were DyfedPowys (four), the Metropolitan Police ( two) and Devon and Cornwall (one).

The figures, obtained using Freedom of Information laws, raise fresh questions about how the ban is being enforced and whether it is a waste of police time. At the time it was introduced, police chiefs said they would turn a blind eye to drivers caught flouting the law, instead giving them ‘education not prosecution’ in the form of a warning.

Nigel Rabbitts, a spokesman for the Devon and Cornwall branch of the Police Federation, said last night: ‘It is poor legislation that hasn’t been thought through and it’s very difficult to enforce.

‘You are talking about looking at a vehicle and trying to figure out what’s going on inside. If you’re looking for someone under the age of 18, that’s difficult without stopping the vehicle, and once the vehicle has been stopped getting the evidence for prosecution is extremely difficult.’

Under the SmokeFree (Private Vehicles) Regulations 2015, those caught face a warning, a £50 fixed penalty, reduced to £30 if paid within two weeks, or a fine of up to £200 if convicted in a magistrates’ court.

But because of a loophole in the law, police cannot issue onthespot fines – unlike for speeding or not wearing a seat belt. Officers must pass details of the offender to the local authority, which should then follow up the prosecution.

Individual forces do not have to record whether they have sent a motorist’s name and address to the council, meaning it is not possible to tell how many smokers were reported in this way.

Jayne Willetts, in charge of roads policing at the Police Federation, said: ‘When a motorist is pulled over and is smoking in the car with a child, the officer’s options are to warn them and offer education around the law and dangers of what they’re doing – or, if they do report the motorist, the paperwork would be handed to the local authority, which should then follow up the prosecution.

‘At the end of the day, changing the mindset of the public to believe that smoking in cars with children is unacceptable is an issue of education by public health authorities, not an issue of policing.’

Antismoking campaigner Deborah Arnott, of Action on Smoking and Health, said: ‘This is a social law. We are never going to see the police putting a large amount of effort into it. But by having the legislation and penalties, we send a strong message to people that this is no longer acceptable.’

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: ‘We know that warning and educating the public are a highly effective way to reduce the harm from tobacco. Our aim is make sure people know the dangers of smoking in cars with children and change their behaviour.’

‘It’s very difficult to enforce’