No more room at the Inn, if you’re drunk you won’t get in.
With the Christmas party season upon us, the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner and South Wales Police are reminding people they won’t get in to pubs and clubs if they are already drunk and they won’t get served. People are being urged to make sure they Know the Score and Drink Less, Enjoy More.
The Know the Score: #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign, launched in early 2015 and aims to tackle excessive levels of drinking in our town and city centres which often leads to violence and increased demand placed on the police, emergency departments and other public services. This is being done by reminding people of the existing laws in relation to serving alcohol and working with pubs and clubs to train bar staff to support them in upholding the law.
South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, Alun Michael said:
“Christmas and New Year is a time to celebrate with friends and family and for many of us, this means getting together for a drink or two. We want people to go out, have fun and celebrate but to know their limits. More alcohol doesn’t mean more fun; in fact you’ll have a better night out if you remember our simple message to Know the Score, Drink Less Enjoy More.”
The campaign will see officers out in the night-time economy raising awareness with visitors, bar staff and bar owners. Through learning opportunities, festive posters, videos and social media, any uncertainty surrounding the laws on serving drinks should be made clear.
Assistant Chief Constable, South Wales Police, Richard Lewis, said:
“We want people to enjoy this time of year. However we need people to understand that it is an offence to knowingly buy, or try to buy, alcohol for a drunken person on licensed premises. Breaking the law could result in a fine of up to £1,000. If you are a member of bar staff you are also committing an offence if you serve alcohol to a person who is drunk.
“We don’t want to dampen your celebration, drink less and enjoy more for a trouble free Christmas and New Year”.
Public Health Wales supports the campaign and has some top tips to help you enjoy the festive season.
Ashley Gould, Consultant in Public Health, said:
“Drink Less, Enjoy More is a great message for the approaching festivities – excessive consumption of alcohol can clearly damage your health both on the night, the morning after and in the long run.
“Try these tips for ‘enjoying more’: maybe set a limit (number of drinks or money) before you go out, and stick to it; try to avoid large rounds, so you can control the pace better; ‘go small’ – bottled beers instead of pints and regular not large glasses of wine; try swapping to lower alcohol percentage drinks, a spritzer or shandy works well too, and so does spacing with soft drinks – have a soft drink with each alcoholic drink to help you stay hydrated, and enjoy your night more.”
Notes
Campaign key messages
South Wales has some of the best venues to enjoy a night out and we want people to make sure they have a great time by simply having a bit less to drink and behaving responsibly. The campaign has the following messages:
• It is illegal to serve someone who is drunk
• It is illegal to buy a drink for someone who is already drunk
• If you are drunk you will not get served or be admitted to licensed premises
• You’ll have a better night out and enjoy yourself more if you drink less
We know that:
• 53% of violence in 2013/14 was associated with alcohol consumption, according to the ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales,
• Peaks in violence with injury across South Wales occur between 10pm and 4am on Friday and Saturday night according to Health and Police data.
• 74% of people believe it is socially acceptable to get drunk on a night out, according to surveys carried out as part of the Know the Score campaign evaluation.
On Friday 11th December 2015 as part of the campaign activity representatives from South Wales Police and other partners will be out in Neath, Port Talbot and Swansea in 96.4FM The Wave.
