A Home Office Press release announces the results of a recent clampdown on underage public drinking. MP Vernon Coaker announced that over 20,000 litres of alcohol had been taken in the recent half term campaign involving 39 police forces. The following findings were posted:
- 25 per cent of the 5,143 youngsters who surrendered alcohol to the police said they were aged 15 or under
- a total of 23,621 youngsters came into contact with the police when alcohol was confiscated
- 3,585 directions to leave were issued
- of the 30 per cent who divulged where they had sourced their alcohol, half said they had bought it from a shop.
Mr Coaker commented:
'I know the public will welcome police action to disperse groups of threatening youths and choke their supply of alcohol. This campaign will not be the last.
I also want to remind parents of their responsibility and where poor parenting is identified as an issue I want to see greater use of parenting contracts to tackle persistent underage drinking. I also want to see greater sharing of information between police and local agencies about repeat offenders to address problems as early as possible.
'Police officers tell me that these campaigns yield valuable intelligence about where children get their alcohol. With this in mind, I want to send a strong signal once again to those persistent few irresponsible retailers that deliberately sell to under-18s. They will be caught and they will be punished. I also want to congratulate all the officers involved in what was clearly a successful campaign for their hard work and dedication.'
An article in the Guardian on the campaign said that 'the initiative was a response to growing concerns about a perceived binge drinking culture in Britain, particularly among youths.'
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