Blitz on Islington's street booze targets teen drinkers

Published: 8th April, 2011
by ANDREW JOHNSON

A RADICAL clampdown on boozing in Islington’s streets is being planned by police and Town Hall chiefs. 

The two-pronged attack will first tackle rowdy under-age drink­ers who have been causing havoc between Holloway and Caledonian Road in a scheme thought to be one of the first of its kind in London.

In addition, the council and police are considering introducing an Islington-wide controlled drinking zone (CDZ), which gives police extra powers to deal with people drinking outside.

That means anyone of any age carrying an open container of alcohol can be forced to hand it over to police. 

There are already four CDZs in Islington – the first introduced in 2007 – in Clerkenwell, around the Emirates Stadium, in Sunnyside Gardens and Elthorne Park, Upper Holloway, and Kinloch Gardens, Holloway.

The clampdown on teenage drinking, which started this week, comes under a new Community Action Partnership (CAP). Police and the council have joined forces with Tesco and other retailers in a bid to stop booze being sold to under-age drinkers. They will also curb so-called “proxy sales”, where adults buy alcohol for children.

“Young people are drinking more and starting younger so we are taking firm action to tackle under-age sales and the problems caused by alcohol,” Islington Council’s Labour crime chief Councillor Barbara Sidnell said.

“Residents are fed up with booze-fuelled, anti-social behaviour on their streets and estates. We intend to crack down on those who sell alcohol to children and on those adults who purchase alcohol on behalf of children.”

Lib Dem opposition leader Councillor Terry Stacy said he fully supported the Partnership, adding that it was building on “firm foundations” laid down by the previous Lib Dem administration.

He added, however, that while the borough-wide CDZ was a good idea, government cuts might make it difficult for police and the Town Hall to fund it effectively. “We are campaigning for a saturation policy in Upper Street,” he said. “That means giving no new licences to any more pubs and clubs as there are enough already.”

The teen-booze clampdown will work by stopping children from buying alcohol and by educating them about the dangers of  binge drinking through drama workshops. Groups of young drinkers will be challenged by police and park patrols.

Inspector Steve Lewington, of Islington Police’s Safer Neighbourhoods Unit, said: “This is the first time an inner London borough has held an initiative like this and we look forward to evaluating its success in coming months.”

A consultation on the planned CDZ runs until May 8.