Develop activities to control the impact of alcohol misuse in the community

What does this mean?

Make use of all the existing laws, regulations and controls available to all the local partners to minimise alcohol related harm. Make use of the powers under the Licensing Act (2003) and the Violent Crime Reduction Act (2006) . Use the Local Development Framework to 'design out' alcohol harm and enable planners to reject inappropriate proposals at an early stage. Manage the night-time economy to reduce alcohol harm.

What is the evidence that this works?

Citysafe, Liverpool's Community Safety Partnership (case below). This package of initiatives has helped to reduce assaults, robbery and antisocial behaviour by over 28% in the city centre compared with the previous year. The overall figures represent the lowest in the centre for many years.

Sheffield Community Safety Partnership has introduced a number of new initiatives to reduce violent crime (case below). In the period between April and October 2006, Sheffield saw a reduction in serious violent crime of approximately 30%.

Case Examples

Liverpool: Citysafe, Liverpool's Community Safety Partnership

Citysafe have developed a web of interlinked initiatives to reduce the potential impact of alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour. The local partnership has developed Pub Watch and the Best Bar None schemes to promote good practice in the licensing trade. The Chamber of Commerce, the City Council, Merseyside Police and other partners have encouraged city centre pubs and clubs to be part of a radio link, which enables staff to share information about potential problems and to notify the police about incidents quickly. Taxi-marshalling schemes have also been introduced and have had positive effects, reducing potential flashpoints at the designated taxi ranks.

Citysafe has also funded two schemes as part of its prevention strategy. The first has been to deploy additional handheld metal detectors at pubs and clubs to discourage the carrying of knives and other offensive weapons. The scheme is being extended to include door supervisors. The second scheme promotes the use of polycarbonate glasses in bars and clubs. As part of the promotion, Citysafe is subsidising the difference in price between conventional glasses and the polycarbonate replacements. The scheme builds on the Crystal Clear programme, which aimed to reduce glass-related injuries and assaults. In September, following joint work involving the City Council, Citysafe and the police, a designation order for the city centre was obtained under powers contained in sections 12-14 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, to prevent alcohol consumption in public places. In a partnership between local A&E departments, the police and Liverpool John Moores University, Citysafe has been promoting increased data sharing regarding alcohol-related assaults in the city. The data from A&E departments is helping Citysafe to target hotspot locations and bars. In turn, such activity is beginning to produce a reduction in the number of referrals to A&E departments. This package of initiatives has helped to reduce assaults, robbery and antisocial behaviour by over 28% in the city centre compared with the previous year. The overall figures represent the lowest in the centre for many years.

Sheffield

Since joining the Home Office's TVCP, the Sheffield Community Safety Partnership has introduced a number of new initiatives to reduce violent crime, particularly in relation to the night-time economy. These include 'meet and greets' at key entry points to the city's night-time economy area. Police community support officers and the Council's City Centre Ambassadors mix with the public, providing community safety, advice on crime prevention and a highprofile presence. These officers also use questionnaires to gather information and intelligence from the public. Incidents are analysed weekly to produce an accurate picture of where, when and what offences are being committed. This allows the licensing team, trading standards officers, and the fire service to focus their checks and attention on premises that require action.

A city centre triage and help point has also been introduced, where members of the public can access treatment for minor injuries or advice. The South Yorkshire Ambulance Service and South Yorkshire Police also undertake joint patrols, therefore ensuring an improved service to the public. These initiatives have led to a reduced demand for ambulance services at peak demand times. Initial data suggests that this reduction is around 7% on both Friday and Saturday nights. A taxi-marshalling scheme at key locations within the city has also been launched and is proving a great success. It ensures that night-time revellers can get out of the city quickly and efficiently rather than becoming embroiled in disorder or violence.

St. Neots Community Alcohol Partnership Pilot Project

In September 2007, Cambridgeshire Trading Standards and the Retail of Alcohol Standards Group began a new initiative - a Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) - to reduce alcohol-related disorder. They aimed to bring about a cultural change by improving information-sharing between off-trade retailers, the local police and Trading Standards officers. St Neots, a small market town in central Cambridgeshire with a population of 30,000 and a history of anti-social behaviour and youth-related disorder, was selected for the project. Over the life of the project St Neots saw a 42% reduction in anti-social behaviour, a 94% decrease in under-age people found in the possession of alcohol and a 92% decrease in alcohol-related litter at key hot spot areas.