Alcohol Consumption in Public Places
Designation Orders: Best Practice
Brighton and Hove
Brighton & Hove is a seaside area with a successful night-time economy and a high concentration of licensed premises. Unfortunately this has led to problems of street drinking and alcohol misuse.
Response
To tackle these problems Brighton and Hove Police have set up a small team of officers to target persistent street drinkers and confiscate alcohol.
The key to the teams success in tackling alcohol misuse problems in Brighton and Hove was the establishment of a citywide Designation Public Places Order (DPPO). The DPPO was introduced with the agreement and support of the local authority and covers an extensive and easily defined area.
The police identified hotspot locations and persistent offenders for street drinking. Resources were then allocated to resolve the problems. In East Brighton an ongoing Operation (Athlete) targeted street drinking by youths, who obtained their alcohol primarily from off-licences.
In addition, Operation Marble tackled public disorder and violent crime at the weekends. As part of this, officers carried out high-visibility patrols in the main area of clubs and pubs to confiscate bottles retained by revellers when they come out on to the street.
Brighton and Hove Police also invested heavily in Community Support Officers (they have about 45 CSOs) who were given the power to confiscate alcohol under the DPPO. They were put to good use as part of the 2004 Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) and were returning about 25 confiscations per week.
What has been learnt?
Introducing a Designated Public Places Order helps to ensure that the confiscation of alcohol powers can be used effectively.
Allowing Community Support Officers to take responsibility for street drinking has worked well.
Having a dedicated team to deal with street drinkers as part of quality of life issues has also been effective.
For further information contact:
Inspector Stephen Barry
Email: stephen.barry@sussex.pnn.police.uk
Last update: Thursday, August 28, 2008