- Lancashire's top cop says that people getting behind the wheel should not touch even a drop of alcohol. Chief Constable Steve Finnigan has backed a zero-tolerance stance which would see the legal limit reduced to nothing from the current 80mg per 100ml of blood.
The Government is reportedly looking at dropping the figure to 50mg but campaigners have called for a complete veto on drinking and driving. Several countries in Europe have levels lower than in the UK and Mr Finnegan thinks the move would save lives across the county. He said: "Alcohol mixed with driving is not a good combination -it does result in deaths and some really tragic events." Lancashire Evening Post
- Parents who refuse to take responsibility for their children's underage drinking should be forced into accepting police offers of support, a senior officer has said. The Chief Constable of Cheshire Police, Peter Fahy, was speaking one week after Warrington father-of-three Garry Newlove was allegedly attacked by a gang outside his home. Mr Newlove, 47, died of his injuries on Sunday afternoon. Four teenagers are in custody and have been charged with murder.
Mr Fahy said: "There should be some form of sanction from the criminal justice system to force some parents to take up the offers of support which we give them to help them deal with their children who have been underage drinking. "This should be a child protection issue and this should be dealt with as part of care proceedings."
Mr Fahy said that when his officers take drunken teenagers home, parents are often shocked, occasionally they do not care and sometimes they are drunk themselves. He said the force together with social services offers a range of support services to those parents. But he added: "It's got to be that if they don't take us up on our offer of help something is going to happen. "That's the bit the criminal justice system struggles with. When you've got a parent who just doesn't care, what do you do?" Guardian
Mr Fahy also called for the minimum age for buying alcohol to be raised to 21, and he's not alone in thinking this is a good idea
- Most people believe the drinking age should be raised in a bid to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour, a poll has found. Some 52% say only over-21s should be allowed to buy alcohol, compared to 45% who insist the limit should remain at 18. The research was commissioned by Channel 4 News in the wake of Cheshire Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy's warning that booze was too cheap and easily available to reckless youngsters. Guardian
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