Post by Taxigirl on Dec 17, 2004 8:36:13 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4103395.stm
Drunken revellers caught misbehaving face on-the-spot fines during a festive crackdown on binge drinking in 180 town and city centres.
Police in England and Wales will be handing out £80 fines to people caught fighting, urinating or being sick in the street, the government has warned.
They will also target premises selling drink to under-18s and disperse groups intimidating or alarming the public.
And in Wales mobile hospitals have been set up to treat Christmas casualties.
The nationwide campaign is being launched by the Home Office on Friday - the busiest night of the year for Christmas parties - and will run until 3 January.
A similar crackdown in the summer saw more than 5,600 arrests - but the Christmas campaign targets more than double the number of city centres.
Fines increased
Penalty notices for drunk and disorderly behaviour have been increased from £50 to £80, and bars and pubs which sell alcoholic drinks to minors risk losing their licences.
Over the summer, sting operations against nearly 2,000 pubs and clubs suspected of selling alcohol to under-18s found that 45% were committing offences.
Similar undercover tactics will be used over Christmas and patrols will be stepped up in known troublespots.
Paul Evans, head of the Police Standard's Unit, said "there will be consequences" for those who irresponsibly consume and sell alcohol.
"This is a period where people tend to drink more - we are not being Grinches or killjoys, but we want this to be a safe holiday season," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Licensing minister Richard Caborn said the message is "stark and simple".
"We're not messing around - we want decent, law-abiding people to be able to get home safely from their Christmas and New Year's parties," he said.
'No complacency'
Home Office minister Hazel Blears said that the campaign to curb alcohol-fuelled violence and sales to minors last summer had been successful.
She added that levels of serious violence had gone down in the areas affected by the crackdown, and that the alcohol industry had been induced to abandon "all you can drink" promotions.
"But we are not complacent, we know there are still widespread and serious problems," she added.
"There should not be an excuse for violent and anti-social behaviour by a minority, spoiling enjoyment for everyone else."
In Cardiff and Swansea mobile casualty units and rapid-response teams of paramedics are being set up on Friday - the last Friday before offices close for Christmas.
The units will also hit the streets on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
In the summer, police issued 4,081 fixed penalty notices, arrested 5,658 people and seized alcohol from 3,292 under-18s.
Drunken revellers caught misbehaving face on-the-spot fines during a festive crackdown on binge drinking in 180 town and city centres.
Police in England and Wales will be handing out £80 fines to people caught fighting, urinating or being sick in the street, the government has warned.
They will also target premises selling drink to under-18s and disperse groups intimidating or alarming the public.
And in Wales mobile hospitals have been set up to treat Christmas casualties.
The nationwide campaign is being launched by the Home Office on Friday - the busiest night of the year for Christmas parties - and will run until 3 January.
A similar crackdown in the summer saw more than 5,600 arrests - but the Christmas campaign targets more than double the number of city centres.
Fines increased
Penalty notices for drunk and disorderly behaviour have been increased from £50 to £80, and bars and pubs which sell alcoholic drinks to minors risk losing their licences.
Over the summer, sting operations against nearly 2,000 pubs and clubs suspected of selling alcohol to under-18s found that 45% were committing offences.
Similar undercover tactics will be used over Christmas and patrols will be stepped up in known troublespots.
Paul Evans, head of the Police Standard's Unit, said "there will be consequences" for those who irresponsibly consume and sell alcohol.
"This is a period where people tend to drink more - we are not being Grinches or killjoys, but we want this to be a safe holiday season," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Licensing minister Richard Caborn said the message is "stark and simple".
"We're not messing around - we want decent, law-abiding people to be able to get home safely from their Christmas and New Year's parties," he said.
'No complacency'
Home Office minister Hazel Blears said that the campaign to curb alcohol-fuelled violence and sales to minors last summer had been successful.
She added that levels of serious violence had gone down in the areas affected by the crackdown, and that the alcohol industry had been induced to abandon "all you can drink" promotions.
"But we are not complacent, we know there are still widespread and serious problems," she added.
"There should not be an excuse for violent and anti-social behaviour by a minority, spoiling enjoyment for everyone else."
In Cardiff and Swansea mobile casualty units and rapid-response teams of paramedics are being set up on Friday - the last Friday before offices close for Christmas.
The units will also hit the streets on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
In the summer, police issued 4,081 fixed penalty notices, arrested 5,658 people and seized alcohol from 3,292 under-18s.