Improved co-operation between off-licences, shops and supermarkets, and Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Police, has seen a massive 78 per cent drop in anti-social behaviour in Norley Hall, Wigan – the focus of a new approach to dealing with the problem.
Despite the success of test purchasing (using children) by the council’s trading standards team, complaints about alcohol-fuelled nuisance and criminal damage at ‘hot-spots’ across the borough haven’t gone away.
Trading Standards – and the vast majority of traders who already ask people who look under 21 to produce ID – have been forced to think of more ways to keep young people off the pop. Or rather on it!
And the new ways of working – tailor-made for specific localities – are already reaping rewards in Norley, where seven adults were prosecuted recently for buying alcohol for children.
“The majority of retailers take their responsibilities seriously”, says local councillor and cabinet member Paul Prescott. “They’ve adopted rigorous procedures to ensure that their staff do not sell alcohol to children.
“But now that the obvious routes for children to buy alcohol are being tightened, under-age drinkers are being more creative. Our approach to tackling the problem has had to become more sophisticated to keep pace.”
Anecdotal evidence suggests that children get their alcohol by ‘proxy’ – from friends and relatives (including some parents!), and from strangers they approach near shops. They’ve even tried ‘covert’ tactics such as using wheelie bins as alcohol drop-off points.
“It is an offence for any person to sell alcohol to a person under the age of 18” says Cllr Prescott, “and it’s also an offence for anyone to purchase alcohol on behalf of a person under 18.
“The seven prosecutions obtained on the back of council CCTV surveillance show that we will take a hard line. Two tenants whose home was identified as being at the hub of much of the anti-social and criminal behaviour that had blighted Norley Hall have been evicted.
“A lot of the anti-social behaviour and criminal damage associated with youths is linked with alcohol.
“It is important that we all act to put a stop to the effects that this has on our communities.”
If you suspect any shop is selling alcohol to children or know of any adults who are supplying to children, please telephone Trading Standards in confidence on 01942 827476.
