Government crackdown on drunken yobs

A drive to reclaim town and city centres from drunken yobs who harass and intimidate families and law-abiding citizens was announced by Home Office Minister George Howarth.

Speaking in London to the Crime Concern Conference, Saturday Night Fever, Mr Howarth called on police, publicans, local authorities and magistrates to work in partnership with the Government to make towns and cities safer.

For some police forces alcohol-related violence and disorder is reported to be one of the most serious problems they face.

Research from the 1996 British Crime Survey suggests that about one in six violent incidents takes place in and around pubs - about 13,000 incidents a week.

Mr Howarth said:

"I want our towns and cities to be safe for everyone to enjoy. Partnership is the key to reclaiming the social and commercial hearts of our communities from the drunken yobs who have made them no-go areas. There are many excellent local initiatives where the police, publicans, magistrates and local authorities have taken effective action. I want to ensure that we build on those successes to win back our pubs and clubs."

Two measures included in the Crime and Disorder Bill would help local authorities and police deal with alcohol-related crime and disorder.

They are:

• a new statutory requirement for local authorities and police to develop crime prevention partnerships, involving voluntary groups, business and local residents, to find local solutions to local problems like alcohol-related disorder;

• anti-social behaviour orders would allow local authorities and the police to seek a civil order from the courts to protect the community from individuals whose anti-social behaviour causes harassment, alarm or distress.

Mr Howarth welcomed action by the brewing industry to improve safety in pubs and clubs:

"Glassings cause thousands of injuries a year and the Government had made its concerns to the industry very clear. The industry initiative to make wider use of toughened glass will, I hope, make their use in pubs and clubs routine."

Police and local authorities will also be encouraged to make full use of a whole range of legislation already on the statute books to deal with drunken anti-social behaviour. These include:

• the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act, brought into force last summer and designed to allow police to confiscate alcohol from underage drinkers who are creating disorder;

• pub exclusion orders, introduced in 1980 but little used, to ban offenders who have been found guilty of drunken violence in licensed premises;

• the Inebriates Act 1898 and the Licensing Act 1902 have been used by police in York to ban the sale of alcohol to habitual drunks;

• a model alcohol byelaw which local authorities can use to ban drinking in designated public places.

Local authorities and magistrates are able to attach conditions to new licences.

Mr Howarth told the conference that a ban on the sale of beer in bottles, which can be broken and used as weapons, could be made a condition of a licence in areas where there was a problem.