This is the shocking amount of alcohol seized from underage drinkers during a recent Friday Night Project.
The bottles of wine, lager, cider and even brandy were taken from under-18s as part of the ongoing work to respond to the issues communities across Rhondda Cynon Taf have called for action on.
Underage drinking and the associated crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour it can lead to remains one of the top priorities for the Rhondda Cynon Taf Community Safety Partnership.
Underage drinking, especially binge drinking on the weekends, can also lead to health problems, development problems and even make young people vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and sexual exploitation.
As a result, the Community Safety Partnership – which coordinates and drives the efforts of all agencies that have a duty and desire to reduce crime and disorder in RCT – launched the Friday Night Projects.
Hugely successful, the operations bring together local policing teams, anti-social behaviour officers, substance misuse officers, Youth workers and Youth Offending Services workers.
They join forces and take to the streets across the County Borough to deal with young people. As well as seizing alcohol and dealing with anti-social behaviour, they also work with the young people to identify what activities they would like to do and then provide accordingly, offering alternative social activities to them.
All young people who have alcohol removed from them are also dealt with by specialist officers and receive follow-up contact with their parents to ensure such issues are dealt with.
Just weeks ago, Friday Night Squad officers helped to save the life of a 14-year-old girl who collapsed with alcohol poisoning during a drinking binge. Her parents have spoken out this week to mark Alcohol Awareness Week, which has a theme of childhood and alcohol.
The latest Friday Night Projects took place in Tonypandy, Treorchy, Tonyrefail and Aberdare, as part of an intensive week of community-based action across RCT by the Community Safety Partnership.
Paul Cannon, Chair of the Community Safety Partnership, said: “The amount of alcohol seized from young people during just one Friday Night project is shocking and is even more poignant as we hear the words of parents who have been directly affected by underage drinking.
“We know this issue is a significant concern to our communities, which is why we work to extend and develop the Friday Night Projects.
“It is not about just hitting the streets and taking booze from kids who should not have it. It is about working with them and giving them the information, support and opportunities they need to make informed choices about how they spend their social time – and then working to deliver what they need.
“The latest Friday Night Projects took place as part of an intense week of action from the CSP to get out there and tackle, at a grassroots level, issues affecting residents, leading to action on anti-social behaviour, graffiti and vandalism, rogue traders, illegal drivers and more.
