Govt to fine drinkers' parents
Greater police powers to confiscate alcohol from underage drinkers.
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Wednesday, 06, Feb 2008 03:32
The home secretary Jacqui Smith has announced plans to increase police powers to fine parents who allow their children to drink alcohol in public.
Officers will also be given greater powers to confiscate drinks from under-18s drinking in public as part of a national £875,000 crackdown on underage consumption of alcohol.
Currently, police officers are permitted to confiscate alcohol if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that the drinking will lead to a crime, but in the wake of public outcry regarding high-profile crimes such as the murder of Garry Newlove - a 47-year-old murdered by three drunken teenagers after he confronted them about an act of vandalism - Ms Smith has pledged to enhance officers' abilities to tackle underage drinking.
"There is a lot of good work being done to tackle the damage that alcohol misuse can do to individuals, to the people around them, and to the communities they live in. But I want to go further," she explained.
"Government must lead the way and I am determined to use all the powers at my disposal to bring about change. But in order to do this we also need the support of industry, enforcement authorities and communities. We all need to meet our responsibilities to make a difference."
She continued: "Police must have all the powers they need to make groups of young people drinking in public a thing of the past. A new campaign to confiscate alcohol from underage drinkers begins this month and lessons will be learned from it."
She also announced an extension in the use of Parenting Contracts when poor parenting is seen as a factor in underage drinking, while the government will also launch a multi-million pound campaign in the summer to raise awareness of the damage caused by alcohol misuse.
And an independent review on the regulating practices used by the drinks industry will also be undertaken, she said at the Business Design Centre in Islington, north London, this morning.