PCC in moves to tackle street drinking

WARRINGTON-based Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane has joined colleagues from across the UK to develop new national guidance on tackling street drinking.  
The project, led by Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping and involving PCCs from Cheshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Cambridgeshire, Humberside, Nottinghamshire, Sussex and West Mercia, puts forward tough measures to deal with street drinkers who are most resistant to treatment or help.
Mr Keane said: “Having listened to feedback from residents and partner agencies across Cheshire, tackling alcohol related harm in our local communities is a key commitment within the Police and Crime Plan 2016-21.
“This new guidance provides us with another tool to tackle this issue and through our involvement with the project front-line officers and staff will not only be able to use the guidance but will be able to tap into valuable training resources provided by Alcohol Concern. This is another positive step in making all our communities safer.”
The guidance, written by Alcohol Concern’s senior consultant Mike Ward with input from key national bodies and PCC representatives, was unveiled at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ annual conference on November 17.
Research estimates that “change resistant” street drinkers cost individual local authority areas anywhere between £300,000 and £4m per year.
Alcohol Concern, the national charity on alcohol misuse, said the average cost of just one, high-risk “change resistant” drinker is around £35,000 annually which includes health, criminal justice and anti-social behaviour costs.
The guidance, funded by the PCCs, recommends agencies develop positive pathways from prisons and hospitals into the community to tackle street drinking and work more closely with the retail sector on alcohol sales. It also urges authorities to use the full arm of the law when appropriate, including civil injunctions to maintain compliance with treatment programmes.
It is believed there could be as many as 15-25 street drinkers in a small local authority area while this figure could rise to 50-90 in larger areas. In very large urban areas, the number could be in excess of 200.
Mike Ward, from Alcohol Concern, said: “PCCs are well-placed to lead a national effort to improve the response to this very visible group of drinkers.”