Licensees in Conwy and Denbighshire are set to be visited by officers’ intent on turning the drinking culture around.
The Community Safety Partnership in the counties have recognised the importance of a healthy and vibrant night time economy in the area, and together the Police and local authority partners have listened to customer and community feedback and implemented a series of initiatives called ‘Time to go home.’
The aim of the initiative is to actively address drunkenness on licensed premises, making local cafes, pubs and clubs both safer and more enjoyable to use.
Chief Inspector Andrew Williams of the Central Division said: ‘We do not want to stop people having a good time when they go out for a social occasion within the towns of our area. It’s about encouraging responsibility within the retail trade to help us in driving down crime and disorder in our region.”
“Licensees have an extremely responsible job to do and we want to support them in delivering this.”
He added: “Alcohol abuse causes significant social problems on a national basis; the majority of people when out and about in towns throughout the region and beyond will have witnessed people drunk in pubs and clubs, but who also have alcohol in front of them.
“The consequences of this are significant. Drunken people render themselves extremely vulnerable to crime – women can find themselves becoming the victims of rape and men think they’ve turned into Heavyweight boxing champions overnight. They become unrecognisable to their friends and end up in violent confrontations. We have seen it time and time again.”
He explained that relationships with licensees in general are excellent, but the intention is to get across what will happen if they break the law.
“This turn around of culture is a long term drive and we are going to take things in bite size chunks.”
Enforcement officers will go into premises to gather evidence and officers will then work with the local authorities to support licensees, as well as door staff and bar staff, in recognising drunken behaviour, acting appropriately and advising drunken people that it is time to go home.
“The aim is to target all premises, to educate the licensees and to remind them of their responsibilities. The whole emphasis will be to support and encouragement
“We will not tolerate drunken people being served with alcohol anymore and the responsibility is with licensees,” said Chief Insp Williams, adding that those found not to comply with the law face the possibility of losing their licence to sell alcohol.”
