Industry body releases guidance on tackling public underage drinking

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has released a new guidance document ‘A New Way of Tackling Public Underage Drinking: Community Alcohol Partnerships' which claims to be a new model for local enforcement to tackle underage drinking. The guidance is based on a Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) pilot scheme in St Neots that reduced underage public drinking and associated crime and disorder through better partnership working between retailers and enforcement agencies . The outcomes from the pilot are:

• 42% decrease in anti-social behaviour incidents in the St Neots area from August 2007 (pre-project) to February 2008 (post-project)
• 94% decrease in under-age people found in possession of  alcohol
• 92% decrease in alcohol-related litter at key hot spot areas
• Amount of alcohol found on young people in St Neots was significantly lower than  expected or in comparison with similar locations, such as Huntingdon
• No new hot spot problem areas created (i.e. no ‘balloon’ effect)
• Changed enforcement activity was cost-neutral
• Better relationship between retailers and enforcers
• Public perception that public spaces were more pleasant than previously – cleaner and fewer incidents of group drinking

See also the government's Youth Alcohol Action Plan published in June 2008