Getting tough on young drinkers
Twenty-five bottles and cans of alcohol were seized in one evening during a crackdown on underage drinking and anti-social behaviour in Newark and Balderton.
In three hours seven large bottles of cider, eight cans of lager, three bottles of whisky, a bottle of vodka, three small bottles containing wine, and four large bottles of mixed spirits were confiscated.
The Advertiser joined the beat manager for Hawtonville, Pc Lisa Mortimore, and the divisional licensing officer for Newark and Sherwood, Mr Paul Inman, for Operation Trichologist.
The operation was paid for with £2,500 from the Home Office. Mr Inman was surprised more alcohol was not seized.
“I expected it would be busy with it being the Friday before half term,” he said.
“They tend to have a blow-out but it’s just how things go. There was definitely more there than we got.”
Mr Inman said most problems associated with underage drinking were between 5pm and 9pm.
Pc Mortimore said it was important to stop underage drinking because other anti-social behaviour, such as criminal damage and violence, often resulted from it.
Friday’s operation covered locations regarded as the most popular with underage drinkers — the Thorseby Road entrance to Newark Cemetery, the RHP sports ground on Elm Avenue, Newark, the playground near Mead Way, Balderton, the entrance to Flowserve Pumps Ltd on Hawton Lane, Balderton, and Balderton Lake, near Rowan Way.
Within minutes of setting off in an unmarked police car, a youth was seen drinking a can of lager while walking along Coronation Street, Balderton.
He could not prove he was 18 so the three cans he was carrying were confiscated and the opened one was poured away.
Pc Mortimore took his name and address and asked the control room at the station to check the electoral roll but no match was found.
The youth claimed to be a law student and argued with police that it was against the law to seize his alcohol.
Pc Mortimore told him he could collect it from the police station the next day if he took identification to prove his age.
He elected to take a letter with information saying he had been stopped and searched, rather than it being sent to his parents.
Five boys was seen with two large bottles of whisky and a bottle of vodka on Eton Avenue just after 8pm.
They told the police they were 15 and 16. All the bottles were confiscated and poured down a drain.
Pc Mortimore said: “A lot of them lie about where they’ve got it from. If they know where they can get hold of it they’re not going to divulge it.”
Mr Inman said it was particularly worrying because of the strength of alcohol they were drinking.
“The body does not start producing the chemical in the liver that breaks down alcohol until you are 18 so it could be in your bloodstream for hours,” he said.
“It’s attacking your body and as a young person it does a tremendous amount of damage that is irreparable.”
Mr Inman said most traders in the area did not knowingly sell to under-18s and they had carried out test purchase operations.
“It always disappoints me that if they don’t look 21 they don’t get asked for identification,” he said.
“But it’s not just from shops. They take it from home with or without their parents’ knowledge.
“A lot of parents buy such huge quantities of alcohol they don’t notice it’s gone.”
Another tactic was for youngsters to hang around outside shops to try to get adults to buy alcohol for them.
Mr Inman said mixing vodka with a soft drink and putting it in a plastic bottle was common but the police had special strips of paper to test for alcohol.
Later in the evening, and despite the cold, 25 youngsters were seen in the grounds of Newark Parish Church.
There were bottles and cans on the floor near a bench. Cider in plastic bottles was seized from one group. They looked about 14 or 15.
The group said they were waiting for friends and just wanted somewhere to socialise.
Mr Inman said reducing underage drinking and anti-social behaviour had become a lot easier since new legislation was introduced.
Section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 allows a police officer in uniform to order an individual aged 16 or over to leave and stay away from a public place for up to 48 hours.
The order can be issued if the officer has grounds to believe that the individual’s presence is likely to contribute to the occurrence, repetition or continuation of alcohol-related crime and disorder.
Failure to comply can lead to arrest and a fine of up to £2,500.
Mr Inman said an order was issued against a 16 year-old boy on Meering Avenue, Newark, after he became verbally abusive. Alcohol was confiscated.
Previously, a senior police officer would have to apply to the district council for a dispersal order under Section 30 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
A police officer or community support officer can also act if they have reasonable grounds to believe the presence or behaviour of a group of two or more people had resulted or was likely to result in anyone feeling intimidated, harassed, alarmed or distressed.
A group can be ordered to leave an area immediately and it is a criminal offence not to do so. The order can be imposed for up to six months.
