15 July 2008 £100m Initiative Will Tackle Alcohol Crime Among Children

15 July 2008

£100m Initiative Will Tackle Alcohol Crime Among Children

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Tackling underage drinking and alcohol related violence in minors will form part of a new £100m package of initiatives aimed at reducing the total amount of youth crime in Britain. A third of the Youth Crime Action Plan, launched on Wednesday by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Justice Secretary Jack Straw and Children’s Secretary Ed Balls, would focus on ‘getting young people off the streets late at night’.

While government statistics for overall crime involving Britains under eighteen has fallen, problems still persist around alcohol-related crime, delinquent peer groups and gangs and young people carrying knives, said the Home Office.

The range of measures announced include:

Using safeguarding legislation to remove at-risk children and young people from the streets late at night (Operation Staysafe), and greater use of existing police enforcement tactics, including measures to tackle anti-social behaviour and underage drinking.

The Home Office hope that these measures will contribute to the clean-up of areas suffering from alcohol related disorder, as well as weeding out irresponsible retailers of alcohol.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

“We know that the vast majority of young people recognise right from wrong and make a positive contribution to our society. There are a minority however who persist in anti-social behaviour and some in more serious criminal activity.”

From: Night Online

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