Beer money to sober up teen drinkers

Underage drinking

Rochdale will be handed an extra £20,000 to deal with booze-fuelled young people this summer.

The town is one of 69 “youth crime priority” areas in line for a share of £1.4m to crack down on teenage binge drinking during the coming weeks.

Government ministers suspect some police forces and local authorities are not making enough use of existing powers to tackle anti-social behaviour.

They want to see more action taken to confiscate alcohol from under 18s; better use of dispersal orders to break up groups of young people getting drunk and causing trouble in public places, and the targeting of shops and off-licences selling alcohol to under-age drinkers.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: “We know that during the summer holidays as the evenings get longer more young people want to spend time outside with their friends.

“The majority of young people are law-abiding and make a positive contribution to their communities.

“However, when alcohol is a factor we know that some young people’s behaviour can get out of control and this can lead to anti-social behaviour.

Communities should not have to put up with this.

“That’s why we are determined to keep up the pressure on local areas so that they crackdown on teenage drinking at all times, but especially during the summer months.”

Government has asked all 69 areas to submit a three-point plan to show how they will step up prevention.

The cash must be spent on confiscating alcohol, breaking up groups of young people who could cause trouble, or early intervention including youth work to find out the underlying cause of the behaviour.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: “I am committed to tackling under-age drinking.

“Drinking alcohol is never an excuse for causing harm and distress to others and we will continue to ensure the police and courts have all the tools and powers they need to swiftly bring the irresponsible minority to account.

“Overall, alcohol-related violence has fallen by around a third since 1995 but, as this funding shows, we are not complacent.”