Underage binge drinkers in Blackburn are being targeted by Lancashire Police and Blackburn with Darwen Council in the run-up to Christmas.
Police officers will patrol key hotspots for youth anti-social behaviour in Blackburn on the night of Saturday 19 December.
Any children who are out late at night and considered to be at risk of becoming victims of crime or falling into criminal behaviour will be taken off the street and into a safe place until they are picked up by their parents or carers.
The crackdown is part of Operation Staysafe, a drive to make sure young people are safe throughout the year. Now parents are being warned to make sure they know where their children are over the Christmas period, when Blackburn Community Safety Partnership usually sees a surge in underage binge drinking.
Vicky Clark, from Blackburn Community Safety Partnership, said: “It’s vitally important that parents keep their children safe over the Christmas period, that they know where they are and make sure they do not have direct access to free flowing alcohol.
“On previous patrols, we have seen children as young as eight-years-old out at 10pm at night without supervision, while much later on in the evening we see a surge in older children hanging out in certain hotspots drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Often their parents have no idea that their children are putting themselves into such a dangerous situation.”
Operation Staysafe is a cross government initiative which forms part of the Youth Crime Action Plan (YCAP). Published in July 2008, YCAP set out a comprehensive package of measures to prevent and tackle youth crime through a triple-track approach of tough enforcement, non negotiable support and prevention. Sixty-nine areas across the country are delivering an intensive YCAP package to ensure young people have safe places to go and interesting things to do on Friday and Saturday nights over three years from 2008-2011.
Department for Children, Schools and Families