Winchester residents Love their Livers!
This year’s Alcohol Awareness Week “Love your Liver” campaign (14 - 20 November 2011) is being hailed a success by the Winchester Community Safety Partnership.
The Partnership is made up of a number of organisations including Hampshire Constabulary, Winchester City Council, Hampshire County Council, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, NHS Hampshire, Hampshire Police Authority and the Hampshire Probation Trust.
It has identified that tackling alcohol related incidents around the night time economy is a key priority, largely due to the fact that alcohol misuse has a much wider impact on individuals, families and the wider community. As a result, people risk their health, in addition to becoming a victim or perpetrator of crime, disorder and violent offences.
Examples of the activities undertaken during Alcohol Awareness Week included:
- Robust Licensing activity – A police led test purchase operation was undertaken on 17 November in six retailers in and around the City. Two of the retailers failed the operation and staff who sold alcohol to underage young people received an £80 fixed penalty notice. Hampshire County Council Trading Standards officers will be leading follow up visits to the two retailers that failed the police test purchasing operation.
- “Think 25” Roadshow – on 18 November Winchester City Council Neighbourhood Wardens, along with the Police and Hampshire County Council Accredited Community Safety Officers supported the Southern Co-operative’s “Think 25” Roadshow at their new store in City Road, Winchester. The roadshow raised public awareness of why Southern Co-Operative stores have a ‘Think 25’ policy. The event was also an opportunity to explain the risks that proxy purchase and supplying alcohol to minors, can have on individuals. In common with other local retailers in the City, Southern Co-operative takes their role in the community very seriously, working to drive down the incidence of underage drinking across all of their stores.
- Extra patrols during the night time economy - high visibility patrols were undertaken in known hotspot locations during peak times to deal with alcohol related antisocial behaviour and violence offences as they occurred, or to deter them from happening.
- Enforcement Action – the police used enforcement action for those who were deemed to be demonstrating alcohol related ASB. They gave out 12 Section 27 notices and took robust enforcement within the Alcohol Control Zone.
Neil Luckett from NHS Hampshire, said:
This year’s “Love your Liver” campaign was designed to draw attention to the longer term problems from drinking too much, and too often. This message complements the more immediate issues around alcohol which the Community Safety Partnership, local agencies and businesses are working with every day in an effort to help people drink responsibly and safely.”
For more information about the partnership’s current campaigns please contact the Community Safety Team at communitysafety@winchester.gov.uk or telephone 01962 848 423 or visit the partnership website: www.wdsp.co.uk/communitysafety