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Police are to get new powers to confiscate alcohol from under-18s who drink in public, the government says. Currently police can seize alcohol only from groups suspected of alcohol-related crime or disorder.
And although under-18s are not allowed to buy alcohol, there is no law preventing them from drinking it.
The proposed ban, which will mean youngsters can legally drink only at home, will be announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith this week.
Frank Soodeen, from Alcohol Concern, has welcomed the proposal.
He said: "The risks for young people of drinking in public are much higher than if, for example, they were at home. So hopefully, this may reduce what we know is a rising number of hospital admissions for the under-16s.
"One of the reasons they buy in such quantities is that it's so easy to find somewhere to drink it and obviously that's what we need to cut back on."
The home secretary will also demand that drink manufacturers do more to stop alcohol being sold to under-18s.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The home secretary will listen to police and is ready to give them extra powers. She is very keen to go for this."
And Ms Smith told the News of the World: "If children are caught drinking in public they'll have those drinks confiscated.
"I fully support communities' efforts to stamp out under-age alcohol-fuelled disorder and the harm that it causes."
Police were given the power to seize alcohol and disperse groups suspected of alcohol-related crime or disorder under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006.
And in a month-long crack-down between October and November last year, the Home Office said officers used power to seize the equivalent of 6,500 pints of alcohol from under-age drinkers.
Note: While I agree that this can't be a bad idea if it keeps some of these alcohol fueled kids of the streets, I feel that it's not going to stop the problem, because at the end of the day, what's to stop these kids sitting at home getting tanked up and then taking to the streets to show off with their mates. To me all it's going to do is hide the problem from public view a little. I think the laws for alcohol seriously need reviewing and that it needs to be made a damn sight more strict regarding underage drinking and that parents should be made a damn sight more accountable for the actions of their kids, forcing parents to take a lot more responsibility for their kids.
I always thought that there was already a law about under age kids drinking on streets but it was ok for them to drink at home. I must live in my own ickle world 99% of the time lol
Aload of tanked up teenagers having their beer taken away, that's not going to go down well.
I can see the hospital admissions for police officers going up.
I always thought that there was already a law about under age kids drinking on streets but it was ok for them to drink at home. I must live in my own ickle world 99% of the time lol
So its perfectly legal for me to walk around drinking a can of beer?
I actually thought that public drinking was illegal for everyone, just that people do it and its not considered very serious.
Its another thing the laws cant fix, whatever they change itll still happen, because its all part of the greater problem
well if you did it around the area i live in, the police will take your booze and pour it down the nearest drain, perhaps the ones near you are just crap
well if you did it around the area i live in, the police will take your booze and pour it down the nearest drain, perhaps the ones near you are just crap
Well if thats not the law, then youve got some nazi vigilante police
I probably see about 1 police car a year in the area i live cos its fairly free of trouble, and so theres noone to notice or care if youre walking down the main road drinking or smoking a joint, even so i was under the impression that when i have a can of beer on the way to the pub, that i was breaking the law, but from that article, it seems that so long as im not disorderly theres no problem.
Well if thats not the law, then youve got some nazi vigilante police
I probably see about 1 police car a year in the area i live cos its fairly free of trouble, and so theres noone to notice or care if youre walking down the main road drinking or smoking a joint, even so i was under the impression that when i have a can of beer on the way to the pub, that i was breaking the law, but from that article, it seems that so long as im not disorderly theres no problem.
It is the law here, and it's actively stuck too, even the down and outs have given up.
It is the law here, and it's actively stuck too, even the down and outs have given up.
There are zones where public drinking isn't allowed, usually town centres etc or a place where there is a large travel of walking travel.
Got hit on the head with a full strongbow can thrown by a bunch of misfit drunked up chavs who couldn't of been much older than 14 - if they were a bit older i could go in hot headed, but when they're that young you feel fucking powerless, one finger on them and you know they'll be alot of grief down the line.
End of the day drink isn't the problem, the problem is that teens feel the need to be anti-social in the first place. Drink doesn't make that happen, helps the intent along a bit, but doesn't cause the intent in the first place.
we did have a big problem with street drinking, but once they saw what the police would do they kind of moved on, but thats one of the problems, moved to somewhere where they can get away with it.
Sean you right, the issue is not the booze, its the teens and their attitudes
But the government doesn't do anything about it really, all they do is push the problem out of sight. What they need to do is find something to entertain the teenagers, because that is the biggest problem, they have nothing to do.
Alot of the youth clubs are closing because the government won't fund them, they are closing skate parks because people complain or to build something that we don't really need and this free bus travel just gives them the choice of where to terrorise, instead of helping the problem they are only making it worse.
Until someone tackles this problem though anti-social behaviour is only going to get worse. The government needs to address these issues instead of just shoving them out of sight and making them someone elses problem.
That's true, I have a police station near me that is open for one hour a week. That's it. All these plastic policemen annoy me too, they may wear the uniform but they can't do anything helpful, not even sure if they are allowed to arrest people.
someone told me that round here were i live if you get caught drinking on the streets its an £80 fine coz all the kids round here hide it when there out if a copper goes past, might be aload of crap but thats what i got told about 2 years ago lol
Public drinking ban for under-18s
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