Alcohol And Drugs Seized In Bromsgrove ASB Operation

Sergeant Ben Hembry and Chris Santoriello-Smith with some of the alcohol seized during Operation Harness prior to its disposal. A large amount of alcohol was seized from under-age drinkers during a police blitz on anti-social behaviour (ASB) across the Bromsgrove district.

Operation Harness was put together by the police in conjunction with Bromsgrove Community Safety Partnership who together identified hot-spots for alcohol-related problems involving youths, such as parks and other open spaces.

Joint patrols involving local policing teams, response officers and Neighbourhood Wardens swung into action during the school half-term break (May 28 to June 6) and seized more than 300 cans, bottles and other containers of alcohol from youngsters. The haul included wines, spirits, alco-pops, cider and beer.

Police also seized two small bags of cannabis which resulted in a 17-year-old being cautioned for possession of the drug.

Between 250 and 300 youngsters were encountered during the operation, including a large number who were dispersed from fields and private land near the the junction of Wast Hills Lane and Lea End Lane, Kings Norton, on Friday, May 28 - the first night of the operation. A significant quantity of alcohol was also confiscated at the same time.

Other locations targeted during the operation included Sanders Park in Bromsgrove, Hagley, Sidemoor, Alvechurch, Catshill, Wythall and Rubery.

Details were taken from a large number of the youths who were warned about the potential for being prosecuted for offences relating to under-age drinking and disorder. Anti-social behaviour letters are also being sent to some of their parents.

Sergeant Ben Hembry, who co-ordinated the exercise, said: "This was a big success and we believe we culled a significant amount of disorder by catching many of these youngsters early before they had a chance to drink a lot.

"This operation sends out a clear and strong message to youngsters that we are not prepared to tolerate under-age drinking and the loutish behaviour that often results from it. We hope it also reassures the wider community who will see that together with our partners we are taking positive action to address this issue."

Chris Santoriello-Smith, Senior Community Safety Project Officer for Bromsgrove District Council, said: "We have had ongoing complaints from the public about this type of alcohol-related nuisance and it's very much a case of ‘you said, we did.'

"Significantly this operation was designed to tackle the problem across the district rather than one or two specific locations. The Community Safety Partnership will now be looking to build on the success of this by developing it in the future. We aim to identify other hot-spots and key times during the year when anti-social behaviour is a particular problem so that we can continue to target it effectively."

"To that end we welcome reports from members of the public if they continue to have anti-social behaviour issues in their area."

Issued: Wednesday 16 June