The new Staffordshire police, fire and crime commissioner has vowed to put tackling youth drug and gang crime issues high on his agenda.

Ben Adams was sworn in to the post on Friday. In his first speech as commissioner, he said the people of Staffordshire wanted to see more police 'out in the community, picking up intelligence and acting early'.

Response times for isolated communities were also touted as a priority for the incoming Tory commissioner, who replaces Matthew Ellis, as well as building on mental health and domestic violence work undertaken by his predecessor.

But high on Mr Adams's agenda is tackling what many believe is an epidemic of youth drug and gang activity.

He said: "One of the things that came up a lot on doorsteps was concern about young people getting dragged into difficult situations around drugs. Now there's a difference between recreational use and dealing, but it's a quick step from one to the other, then it's a quick step into more serious crime.

"You start off with some drug dealing. You've got serious criminals behind that. And they start to take advantage of people. The next thing you know, they're carrying knives and seeking to defend their patch.

"We're going to stop it by having 250 more officers for a start. It could be enough – we'll be back to around 2,000 by the end of this term (three years). It will allow us to intervene more quickly, to pick up intelligence in the community and help people to tackle this."

The push to tackle knife, drug and gang-related youth crimes comes after a flurry of incidents across the city and county.

Three children were arrested and a knife was seized after 'mass disorder' in Madeley in April.

And in Leek, a knife-wielding cocaine-dealing teen aged just 17 was given a suspended sentence in March.

In Stoke-on-Trent, 50 anonymous teens recently shared images through a mum's support group, speaking of the serious pressures of knife and gang crime they face on a daily basis in the city.

And an incident in Bentilee last year, when a schoolboy was lured and then stabbed in the stomach, led to two teens, aged just 14 and 17, narrowly avoiding custody.

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