Home help

Published: 14 October, 2010

• CAMDEN Departure Lounge is not simply about handing out flip flops and biscuits to party-goers.

The purpose of the Departure Lounge is to help anyone who has had a night out in Camden Town get home safely afterwards, and to save the police, council and the NHS money by minimising the negative results of people drinking too much.

With a lively bar and pub culture, it is usual for there to be a number of intoxicated people at the end of Friday and Saturday nights.

These people can have a negative effect on the community, get involved in violence and come to harm.

The Departure Lounge takes a preventative approach, trying to stop people causing problems or getting into trouble.

The scheme helped 200 people on its first night.

People were given maps and taxi numbers, and those who were becoming violent were pacified.

The scheme costs just a few hundred pounds per weekend to run and is financed in partnership between the council, police and Primary Care Trust. To put this into context, police figures show a mugging on average costs the authorities £8,000, a serious fight £25,000, alcohol-related violence £12,000 and an ambulance call-out £263.

The scheme has the full backing of London Ambulance Service, Camden Town Unlimited, Camden Inner London Licensees’ Association and the local Safer Neighbourhood panel.

It is running as a pilot until Christmas, and its effectiveness will be continually assessed.

The Departure Lounge is just part of a number of measures aimed at minimising the effects of alcohol misuse in Camden Town, to make it safer and more pleasant for residents and visitors.

CLLR ABDUL HAI
Labour cabinet member for community safety, Camden Council

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