Back to Latest News
01 Feb 2012
Recently, police officers in Cheshire have been called to
deal with cases where young people have drunk so much
alcohol that they have put their lives at
risk.
Day after day, Cheshire officers are responding to incidents
involving underage drinking where young children
have been abusing alcohol to the extent that they have put their
lives in danger.
Cheshire Police are issuing a warning to parents, teachers and
other adults who have a responsibility to educate young
people about the harm alcohol can cause.
Assistant Chief Constable Ruth Purdie commented
My officers are facing situations where they are dealing with
young people who have passed out on the streets.
Officers deliver messages to parents that their child's life is
hanging in by a thread because of alcohol
poisoning and it is just not acceptable.
I am challenging everyone who cares about or
has a responsibility for a young person, if you are a parent, older
brother or sister, a teacher, youth worker, doctor, social worker
or just someone else involved with young people I want you to
consider this question - what have you done today to
protect the children you know from the
harm alcohol can cause if misused.
I want you to consider this - would you willingly provide money
or allow the young people in your care or their friends to buy
drugs and take enough of them to poison their body
and put their life in danger?
You might think this is a ridiculous question
to put to you, but alcohol acts like a drug in young peoples bodies
because they are not developed enough to cope with the side
effects.
Research shows that young people often drink
with the consent of those people closest to them,
their parents, sisters, brothers or older friends and the alcohol
is bought for them knowing they are underage.
Drinking alcohol causes anxiety, slowed breathing and
heartbeat, loss of consciousness, young
people can suffocate on their own vomit, it leaves
them vulnerable and clouds their ability to think putting them at
risk of becoming a victim of crime and potentially, alcohol like
drugs, can have fatal consequences.
If you are a parent remember that your own drinking habits will
have an influence on your children. Young people might not want to
drink but may feel peer pressure from their
friends or family, make sure if you are a parent that your children
are aware of the risks and implications of underage drinking.
Research has shown that the most common place
for alcohol to be accessed is the home, parents
have a responsibility to make sure their children can't get
hold of it. Young people are more likely to drink alcohol
if they perceive it to be fun, it's important for parents and
teachers to educate their children on the negative associations
what alcohol does to the body, the fact that adolescents bodies can
not process large amounts of alcohol and it can lead to problems in
latter life as damage can not be reversed.
We need to act now to ensure today's young generation understand
the harm they are doing to themselves. Education is
key to the harm alcohol does to young people, research
shows that here in the North West in particular, we have a
real problem with alcohol related harm.
I do not want my officers turning up at a
school or someone's home delivering the message
that a young person has died because of the amount
of alcohol they have drunk. Lets act now and act together
with one voice.
- ACC Ruth Purdie, Cheshire Constabulary
