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Police on water patrol to stop teen drinking
Last updated at 10:07am on 24.11.06
Police will hand out bottles of water to drunken teens
Police armed with bottles of water are hoping to persuade teenagers to stop carrying alcohol on the streets.
Youngsters found drinking in public will be offered the 500ml bottles of specially labelled water as a 'swop'.
The three-week campaign, being introduced by Cheshire police, is the latest in a string of controversial crackdowns on anti-social behaviour and crime.
Should police be doing more to curb underage drinking? Tell us in reader comments below
Last month, the force handed out tape measures to shopkeepers in the hope they would be able to provide accurate descriptions of the height of any raiders who targeted their stores.
The bottle swap has been named Operation ArcAngel. Each bottle of water carries a label explaining the health dangers and possible penalties for underage drinking.
Over the next three weeks, officers will be stopping young people on the streets to check if they are carrying alcohol. Anyone under 18 found with drink will have it confiscated and be given bottle of water instead. Officers will warn those caught that if they are stopped a second time they face the possibility of arrest and fines of up to £80.
Other possibilities include a formal warning or reprimand. Parents will receive a letter from the deputy chief constable informing them that their child has been found on the streets with alcohol.
Yesterday, residents in Wilmslow were scathing about the water scheme, saying it was a waste of time and money.
Sales manager Nigel Corbett, 42, said: 'These hooligans need locking up - not free water. I doubt law-abiding locals would get any free water - you simply have to be a nuisance to get some.' Engineer Francis Kileen, 46, said: 'They are treating these louts with kid gloves. People who caused trouble used to get a clip round the ear - now they get free water.'
Acting Deputy Chief Constable Garry Shewan said the ArcAngel campaign developed after complaints about increasing antisocial behaviour from drunken teenagers. 'Local communities are telling us that they are fed up seeing young people on the streets who have been drinking and whose behaviour causes them concern,' he said.
Police will also patrol near offlicences and trouble hotspots.
Chief Inspector Peter Crowcroft said: 'Patrols will be targeting all the hotspots where the problem exists. The aim is to improve the way of life for people who are on the receiving end of alcohol related crime, violence and antisocial behaviour.'
Reader views (3)
Unbelieveable. Who came up with this?
- Jk, London, UK
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Needed that.
- Jay, London, UK
Monty Python couldn't write farse as good as this.
- Frank, Wolverhampton, England
