A round-up of Christmas 2010 pub retail security and crime prevention work around the UK.
Police in North Tyneside are working with Wallsend members of Pubwatch to reduce drink-fuelled incidents. Officers from Wallsend Neighbourhood Policing Team are carrying out additional patrols in and around licensed premises as the party season heats up in the town.
Neighbourhood Inspector David Guthrie said: "We work closely with members of the Wallsend Pubwatch all year round but it’s particularly important during the party season for uniformed officers to make additional visits to licensed premises. The scheme works by making premises safer for customers, as troublemakers in one pub or club can be banned from all the Pubwatch scheme members’ establishments, adding to the safety and enjoyment of their patrons. Eleven people are currently banned by the scheme members.
"We know that at this time of year more people go out to enjoy the festive season by visiting pubs and clubs. We want to make sure this results in a good time enjoyed by everyone by reminding people not to let their behaviour get out of control. Our message is clear if you’re planning a night out then plan to stay in control. By all means have fun but don’t let being drink ruin your night, or anyone else’s."
Pubwatch Chairperson Alison Hudson, from the Rosehill Tavern, said: "All 23 licencees on the Wallsend Pubwatch scheme hope their customers have a great Christmas, but clients must remember if they overstep the mark they will be immediately put on full exclusions, preventing them from entering most pubs in the Wallsend area."
Police also want to remind people of the ongoing for forcewide initiative, Keys, Money, Phone, Plans to get home? which encourages people to think about their safety when planning a night out.
Party-goers are asked to follow this safety advice:
Think: keys, money, phone, plans to get home ?Stick with your friends and look out for each other ?Stash some cash in case you lose your purse or wallet ?Pre-book a taxi home ?Don’t make yourself vulnerable by getting too drunk.
And Christmas revellers in Surrey are being asked to make sure they remember their night out for the right reasons and act responsibly as a crackdown on drunken disorder and violent behaviour during the festive period launches this week.
As the party season gets into full swing, lots of people will be heading out to the county’s pubs and clubs to celebrate but Surrey Police are warning that any alcohol related disorder or anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.
As part of a campaign that will run over the Christmas and New Year period, uniformed officers will be carrying out extra high-visibility patrols, focusing on busy town centres including Guildford, Woking and Redhill, to encourage people to enjoy themselves responsibly.
In addition, Surrey Police’s licensing officers and undercover Alcohol Enforcement Team (AET) will be visiting licensed premises to ensure venues are operating within the law and not serving people who are already drunk or underage.
A series of posters titled “A night to remember? Make sure it’s for the right reasons. Please enjoy your night responsibly” are going up in town centres near pubs, clubs, railway stations, bus shelters and busy shopping areas.
Advertising vans with the posters featured on a digital screen will be parked in busy areas on the weekend evenings when more people are out drinking.
In addition, posters will also be going up in pub and club washrooms and will feature on beer runners while text messages highlighting the campaign will be sent via Bluetooth to those inside busy venues.
The campaign will be supported by independent Street Angels/Pastors schemes in some areas working in partnership with Surrey Police.
The volunteers will provide a visible presence in busy areas where they will hand out lollies and water to revellers which has had a positive impact on revellers’ behaviour when used before.
Officers will be operating a zero-tolerance approach towards any alcohol-fuelled violence and offenders could face arrest, a ban from licenced premises under the PubWatch Surrey scheme and/or a criminal record.
Licensed premises have also been issued with posters and been given advice on how they can help the police by refusing to serve alcohol to under-18s or anyone they suspect is already drunk. If they are caught, they could face prosecution, a heavy fine or face losing their licence.
Chief Superintendent Gavin Stephens said: “We would like everyone celebrating to have a night to remember but for all the right reasons.
“Most people visiting our town centres are well behaved but a minority can overdo it and ruin the party for others. Everyone has the right to enjoy a festive night out without intimidation or the fear of violence.
“We don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun but we are asking everyone to enjoy themselves responsibly. The warning should go out to anyone involving themselves in violence over the Christmas period that such behaviour will not be tolerated.
“Anyone using the festivities as an excuse for causing trouble runs the risk of not only being arrested and waking up in a prison cell, but also faces getting a criminal record and a ban from pubs, bars and clubs in their area.”
High visibility electronic signs have been rolled out in Loughborough as part of a crack down on people drinking in alcohol free zones.
Charnwood Community Safety Partnership (CSP) has funded the three signs, erected between the town centre and Epinal Way roundabout, which will flash warnings that the area is subject to a booze ban.
The signs are part of a co-ordinated effort between Charnwood Borough Council and the police in Loughborough to tackle public drinking which leads to complaints about anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance in residential areas.
Councillor David Snartt, Charnwood Borough Council’s cabinet member for community safety and chairman of the CSP, said: “Last year, there was a multi-agency crack down on people drinking in the alcohol free zone and more than 100 people were caught ignoring the ban.
“Despite warning signs in the area, they claimed it was because they didn’t realise they were breaking the law.
“This year, ignorance cannot be an excuse because these are highly visible signs. In addition to the signs, the police are stepping up patrols to enforce the alcohol free zone.”
Extra police patrols have been put in place during the last week of the academic term to reflect the increase in the numbers of people coming into town to celebrate Christmas.
On top of the usual patrols, extra officers, many of them wearing helmet-mounted cameras, will be patrolling the Ashby Road area to ensure the Christmas celebrations don’t get too noisy or out of hand.
PC 1845 Mike Green, the beat officer for the University, said: “These signs will be a great way of enforcing the alcohol free zone in the town which was put in place to improve and maintain the quality of life for local residents.
“Having a large visual sign should remind people it is illegal to drink in the streets and, as a result, reduce incidents of alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder. I think they’ll be an effective tool in our partnership approach to reducing anti-social behaviour.”
The Storer and Ashby Area Residents Group (SARG) has been a driving force behind the creation of the alcohol free zones and welcomed the new initiative.
Hilda Puttick, a spokesperson for SARG, said: “We look forward to the new illuminated signs and hope they will be taken note of and obeyed!”
The measures are being taken after residents complained about noise, minor vandalism and litter caused by people drinking in public in recent years.
And a variety of groups are coming together to ensure a Christmas night out in Hinckley will be a safer one.
The police, pubs, and street pastors are all putting on extra staff for the busiest nights, and there will be taxi wardens at the George Street taxi rank. The town centre will be monitored by dedicated CCTV staff, who will have immediate access to the emergency services at the earliest sign of an incident developing. Pubs will also be serving drinks in safety glasses made from high quality polycarbonate.
The taxi wardens are being paid from the Beacon award which was made to the town last year for steps it had already made to make the town centre a safe and attractive place for a night out.
The taxi wardens will be on duty at the George Street rank on the nights of December 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 26, 31 and on January 2.
Inspector Rich Ward, commander of Hinckley and Bosworth local policing unit, said: “Last year we saw a significant reduction in disorder on the busiest Christmas nights, and we are looking to build on that this year.
“We will have extra officers on duty in the town centre, as we will have across the district on the peak nights.
“Taxi ranks can be the focus of arguments or worse as everyone wants to get home as quickly as possible at the end of the night. These taxi marshals will ensure that there is an orderly queue.
“So if you are considering a night out in Hinckley this Festive Season, there are plenty of people around to see that you can enjoy yourself safely and that you can then get home at the end of the night with a minimum of hassle.”
Sharon Stacey, chief officer (housing, community safety and partnerships) at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said: “We will be monitoring the town centre CCTV, looking for any early signs of disorder and anyone in distress, and where necessary alerting police on the ground to deal with incidents.
“This safer night out package could only come about through a variety of organisations working together as part of Hinckley and Bosworth Community Safety Partnership.”
Syd Henderson, co-ordinator of Hinckley Street Pastors, said his team would be out on the streets from 11pm to 3am on the peak nights.
“We chat to people, support them and listen to them. A lot of people don’t get listened to.
“We are about changing the atmosphere on the street and making it a more welcoming place.”
Pubwatch is contributing £500 towards to cost of safe drinking glasses, which will be used in all town centre pubs on the busiest nights.
Kev Thompson, chair of Hinckley Town Centre pubwatch, said: “We are very happy to be involved in the safety glasses initiative. We are striving to make the town centre a safer place for everybody to enjoy themselves.”
