Police powers to tackle alcohol-related behaviour
There are a number of measures Cheshire Police takes in order to
combat alcohol-related crime. To reduce alcohol-related crime it is
important to tackle the underlying causes and the misuse and sale
of alcohol before it becomes a problem, as well as enforce the
law.
As a police service, we want to do more than respond to the
crime and arrest the offenders - we want to prevent alcohol-related
crime, not just deal with the after-effects. The tactics we are
using to realise this include:
- Using Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Acceptable Behaviour
Contracts and injunctions to deter repeat offenders or force
parents to take responsibility for their children’s behaviour.
- Ensuring a visible police presence in town and city centres
during hot-spot times.
- Developing PubWatch schemes to empower licensees to share
information and target problems.
- Enforcing 'banning orders' for individuals who have been barred
from premises or arrested for drink-related violence or
disorder.
- Targeting named offenders of violent crime and potential
alcohol-related crime 'hotspots' such as taxi ranks, and late night
cafes, bars and clubs.
- Issuing fixed penalty notices for being drunk and
disorderly.
- Issuing fixed penalty notices where we find licensees selling
alcohol to under 18s in licensed premises.
- Using litmus tests to determine whether soft drinks being drunk
by young people contain alcohol.
- Working with Trading Standards officers to perform test
purchases at bars, clubs and off-licenses to check for staff
selling alcohol to people aged under 18.
- Seizing alcohol from under 18s who are caught drinking in
public places.
- Seizing alcohol from people drinking in an anti-social manner
within Designated No Drinking Zones, and arresting those who fail
to comply.
- Multi-agency licensing visits to licensed and off-licensed
premises.
- Greater use of CCTV to diffuse potential disorder in town
centres.
- Working with off-license premises to reduce theft and proxy
purchasing.
- Working with licensed premises to reduce anti-social
behaviour.
- Issuing Direction To Leave orders, which give police officers
the power to tell anyone aged 16 or over to leave a particular area
for up to 48 hours.