UNDERAGE drinkers were targeted in a multi-agency operation carried out in Grays last week.
Thurrock Council officers from the Community Protection, Licensing and Trading Standards teams joined forces with Essex Police to target known hotspot areas.
The seizures included a litre bottle of Jack Daniels. The event also included surveillance and investigations into where age restricted items -alcohol and cigarettes – were being sold from.
During the evening the teams responded to Anti-social Behaviour calls and identified some potential new areas where young people are congregating and causing problems.
Thurrock Council Leader Councillor John Kent said: “Concerns around drinking continue to be a top priority for us especially in response to issues raised by residents. By joining forces in operations like this we are able to address the problem from all angles – from where the alcohol is being purchased to where Anti-social Behaviour is taking place as a result of the drinking.”
So now :”concerns around drinking are a top priority” to our wonderful labour administration. Why did they not back the DPPO requests from their residents at the first attempt. Same pattern appearing here, let others take the lead and change our mind at the last minute. When will they have any ideas of their own. Drinking in genearl has always been a problem in Thurrock, and under-age drinking in particular has always been there. All tools that can be made available to the police to combat this should be encouraged.
chickenfeed1, unfortunatley the DPPO’s are only as effective as the local police, and if you look around Grays Town Centre and other DPPO’s these have very little effect, either there are not enough Police Officers / PCSO’s or they no longer care about the public drinking, alos with the DPPO’s these are not an alcohol ban area only a place where the policve can ask people to stop.
Stiffer penalties need to be given to shops that are selling to underage people, maybe with their licence being withdrawn completley if they are caught for a second time, also anyone caught buying the alcohol on behalf of the underage should be fined heavily.
Lambo I counldnt agree more with the notion that the local people can help make this effective,as previous orders have proved ineffective, but you are only proving my point about this administration, when you say “maybe there arent enough PCSO’s” as it was them who were all for withdrawing the funding for PCSO’s.
The courts must also play their part in handing out sentances that deter, but lets walk before we can run. I am speaking about my area which is Ockendon, where the PCSO;s have been a very important part of local policing being seen and effective, and to prove a point again, I do not see, or hear the one elected labour councillor joining the debates?