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Police target underage drinkers
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| Warning: Tony Cope |
A summer crackdown on the sale of alcohol to underage drinkers has been launched in Oxfordshire.
Licensed businesses across the county have been sent a resource pack containing information about asking customers for proof of age and the implications of selling alcohol to anyone the age of 18.
This will be followed by a two-week test purchasing blitz across Oxfordshire, focusing on retail outlets.
Oxfordshire County Council trading standards group manager, Richard Webb, said: "The first phase of this operation is about giving traders who sell alcohol all the necessary information, so there can be no excuses for falling foul of the licensing laws.
"The exercise is as much about raising awareness of the issue of underage alcohol sales as it is about rooting out irresponsible traders."
The information packs contain a video titled 'no proof of age - no sale'. There are also training materials on a CD which can be printed off by independent retailers, including refusals books, staff tests and training record sheets.
Posters warning children they could be fined £80 for attempting to buy alcohol and others warning adults who buy alcohol for minors are also included.
Retailers will be informed about the test purchase operation, although they will not be told when to expect a visit.
The joint approach, organised by the Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership, follows continued problems found in recent test purchasing campaigns in each of the Oxfordshire districts.
Thames Valley Police licensing manager for Oxfordshire, Tony Cope, said: "This test purchasing operation is just the start of the partnership's summer campaign to tackle underage and irresponsible drinking.
"During the summer holidays more teenagers are tempted to hang out in parks and drink alcohol.
"Posters will be sent to licensed premises across the county to warn young people the dangers of alcohol, highlight to adults that it is an offence to buy alcohol for people under the age of 18 and lastly, target and educate licensed premises about the consequences of selling alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 and serving people who are already under the influence of alcohol.
"Alcohol can sometimes lead to violent behaviour and sexual assaults. Officers across the county will be out in force this summer in the town centres in a bid to prevent any of these crimes taking place."
Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for community safety, Judith Heathcoat, said: "We know that illegal alcohol sales are a major driving force behind anti-social behaviour involving young people, as well as contributing to serious health problems.
"By fulfilling their duty to stop underage people buying alcohol, shop owners and staff can have an extremely positive impact on their local communities."
National reports and studies have provided compelling evidence about the negative impact of drinking by young people on their own short and long-term health.
On average 13 children a day are admitted to hospital as a result of drinking alcohol. Deaths from liver cirrhosis have risen in the 25-34 age group, and this is thought to be a consequence of increased drinking starting at an earlier age.
Alcohol is also a major factor to crime, with 37 per cent of offences committed by people under the age of 18 committed by those who drank once a week or more.
Oxfordshire's Alcohol Arrest Referral Scheme estimates the annual cost of alcohol-related Accident and Emergency attendances directly linked to licensed premises in the county is £3.3m.
4:20pm Friday 25th July 2008
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