News

LOCAL COPS ON PRIME TIME TV

A TV documentary entitled “Drunk and Dangerous� is due to be shown on BBC 1 on Monday January 10 at 9.00 pm. It shows local police officers enforcing a crackdown on drunkenness and rowdy behaviour.

BBC camera teams accompanied high visibility police patrols in Dover and Folkestone, during the August Bank Holiday last year, to see how officers deal with alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour.

South East Kent was one of over 70 policing areas from England and Wales to take part in the summer Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign.

During the operation from July 8th – August 31st 2004 the local officers dealt with 184 incidents and made 105 arrests.

Police in Folkestone, Dover and Deal issued 32 fixed penalty notices for being Drunk and Disorderly in a public place, stopchecked 328 youths, carried out 33 vehicle checks and confiscated alcohol from 50 people, including adults and juveniles.

The Licensing Enforcement Team visited 106 licensed premises to ensure that alcohol was not being sold to under aged youths and that licensees were fulfilling their responsibilities under the relevant regulations.

During the campaign, alcohol-related violent incidents fell by 12 per cent in the town centres, compared to the same period last year.

Operation Kibosh started in May 2004 with high visibility patrols in town centres on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to deal with alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour.

Supt Paul Brandon , Area Commander of South East Kent Police, appears in the documentary and has seen a preview. He said: “The film shows the sorts of incidents that my officers have to deal with every weekend. I think people will be surprised at the sort of grief they have to put up with and the professional way they deal with it.�

He added: “It also shows that Folkestone and Dover do have a vibrant nightlife and that our aim is to work with our crime reduction partners and licensees to make it even safer for people to enjoy.�