18th October 2007, 07/355
Alcohol swab testing to target underage
drinking
Underage youngsters who try to disguise alcohol in soft drinks
could be caught out in a new swab testing initiative to hit the
streets of West Lancs.
As Halloween and Bonfire Night fast approaches, with it sees an
increase in anti social behaviour, binge drinking and criminal
damage.
So the West Lancashire Community Safety Partnership (WLCSP) - of
which the District Council is the lead agency - has given funding
for alcohol testing kits.
These harmless swabs will be used to target anyone under the legal
age limit and can be dipped into drinks where it is believed that
the can or bottle may contain a mixture of alcohol with it.
In the run up to these events the Community Beat Managers and
Police Community Support Officers will be equipped with kits and
will be targeting youths drinking on the streets.
Cllr David Westley, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, said:
"This is a great way to catch out any youths who have tried to
disguise the fact that they are drinking by hiding the alcohol in
soft drinks. They won't get away with it though because police will
seize it from them if the tests show up positive!"
Under Section 1 of the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act
1997, where a police officer or police community support officer
reasonably suspects that a person under the age of 18 is in
possession of alcohol in a public place, they may require that
person to surrender the drinks to them and dispose of it
accordingly.
Bill Taylor, Chairman of the WLCSP, said: "Every year we always
experience problems in the run up to Halloween and Guy Fawkes. A
large part is down to underage drinking, which then leads to
nuisance and even dangerous behaviour. So to pre-empt these issues,
we have been able to launch this innovative initiative to hopefully
stop youngsters causing mischief through alcohol."
Police officers will also be equipped with camcorders to record any
incidents on tape to provide evidence for any incidents of anti
social behaviour.
Kerry Briggs, Ormskirk Town Centre Police Community Support Officer
said: "The swab kits enable police staff to quickly and accurately
check what young people are drinking without ruining the drink. If
we find the drink contains alcohol, we can then dispose of it
appropriately. The swabs will be used as part of a number of
initiatives to reduce anti-social behaviour in the run up to
Halloween and Bonfire Night."
This latest initiative that the WLCSP has funded complements other
work that the Council has been involved in around alcohol
awareness, such as Age Check, launching a new comic for teenagers
and supporting the Best Bar None Awards Scheme
For more information about the work of the WLCSP, visit the
Community
Safety section.
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