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'Confiscation Cops' take to Wirral streets in booze crackdown



A NEW crackdown by police and Wirral Council gets underway this week aimed at taking alcohol off young people.

The partnership between Merseyside Police and Wirral Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team will see a dedicated patrol of police officers specifically focused on removing alcohol from young people.

The dedicated patrol, which will be launched on Saturday, August 8, will be working at peak times to tackle alcohol misuse by young people.

Targeting hot-spot locations of alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour, identified by analysis of police and partner data which includes calls from the public, the officers will confiscate alcohol from young people. The officers, branded as the "Confiscation Cops", will be patrolling the borough in a high visibility vehicle, responding to public concerns.

The officers will, however, seek out young people on foot in areas where they congregate.

Chief Inspector Bob Gittins, partnership development officer, said: "Our police officers are regularly removing alcohol from young people but often juggling this with other competing demands.

"We are now able to focus specifically on this issue with a dedicated patrol targeting hot spot areas at peak times to separate young people from alcohol.”

He added: "The link between alcohol misuse amongst young people and anti-social behaviour is well established.”

This activity supports other initiatives funded through the government's Youth Crime Action Plan such as Operation Staysafe, which is a multi-agency operation removing young people at risk from the streets to a place of safety and after school police patrols.

Caroline Laing, manager of Wirral Anti-Social Behaviour Team, said: "This activity is not just about tackling anti-social behaviour, it is also about addressing other areas of harm that alcohol can cause to young people; health problems caused by binge drinking and the increased possibility of people becoming victims of crime such as violence and sexual assault.

"The patrol will see young people signposted to support services, such as the Youth and Play Service's Response service and directed into positive activities.”

The "Confiscation Cops" patrols are funded by the government's Youth Taskforce for the summer months as one of a number of initiatives to tackle alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour by young people, but will be a regular feature at peak times from September onwards.

Readers can report locations where young people are engaging in alcohol misuse to the police on 0151 709 6010.

THE GLOBE

OMG!Wot a laff! 1st of all tellin peeps when ur comin (like they give a poop)2nd giving them a lecture after u`ve taken their ale away is gonna win u any friends!?! The sentiment is in the right place I guess but jeez! I witnessed 2/3 weeks ago an anti social behaviour team patrole our street. They caught 2 lads playin football where they shouldn`t have been by some garages.As a `punishment` they were ordered to go on a bike ride with the team thru welsh mountains. Their mum was told they would be patrolling the street `every saturday`! The kids are now up playing footy every saturday since coz they wanna go on an interesting bike ride. No patroles have been seen since. I don`t have an answer to these problems but tellin peeps when ur comin in hope of a day out is not the way forward.

so how much do we have to pay for this? another excuse to raise tax's for the council's holiday is it?