Warwickshire News Mine

On Saturday July 10, the multi agency safety and educational initiative, Your Town, Your Choice provided individuals with the choice to behave in a responsible manner whilst on a night out in Leamington. The event began at 8pm with all activity-taking place in two marquees in Warwick Street.

George Stepney, Warwickshire Police Community Intervention Manager said: “The night proved to be a big success with people enjoying a night out in Leamington. Along with free non-alcoholic fruit shots and bottles of water, 700 alcohol strips, 700 drink detectives, 300 pairs of flip-flops, 500 purse bells and 400 drink caps to prevent drink spiking, were given away.

“People were really impressed with the flip-flops - especially girls who had in the past removed their shoes and consequently received injuries from glass.

“Many thought that the sheer presence of the police added to the going out staying safe experience.”

Visitors to the marquee were asked to complete a brief questionnaire to share their views on a night in Leamington. Of the 335 respondents:

* 76% felt safe or very safe when out in Leamington Town Centre at night.
* 84% felt safe or very safe when drinking in licensed premises in Leamington.

Drink spiking was a topic of conversation and the event provided the opportunity to discuss this further and increase people’s awareness. Visitors were very keen to try out the drink detectives on their own drinks and advice was given regarding how to keep safe and prevent this from happening.

Kit Leck from Warwickshire County Council’s Drug & Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) said: “The event attracted an eclectic mix of people from different age groups, locations and people visiting different licensed premises in the town.

“They told us that it was really useful to have different agencies available to discuss the night time economy and how to keep safe.

"The event showed us that binge drinking is still very common which has uncovered a need for us to work with our partners on continued awareness raising about the implications of drinking too much alcohol."

Those attending the event were also very enthusiastic about completing a quick street survey about the night time economy, which was undertaken by volunteers from Fire and Rescue, Warwickshire Police, Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council.

Cllr Bernard Kirton, Warwick District Council’s Community Protection Portfolio Holder and Chairman of Safer South Warwickshire said: “Everyone has the right to enjoy a night out in Leamington Town Centre but it shouldn’t be at the expense of other users and businesses. We want everyone to be safe and feel safer and the simplest way to do that is to plan your evening, drink safely, stay with and travel home with friends.”

In support of the initiative, Inspector Faz Chishty said: “During the night police and partners actively engaged with the public and re-enforced the message to the small minority who cause trouble and behave badly, that their behaviour will not be tolerated in Leamington Town Centre.

“We endeavour to change their mindset, enabling residents and visitors to enjoy a trouble free night out and further protecting communities from harm.”

Warwickshire County Councillor, Richard Hobbs Portfolio Holder for Community Protection welcomes the event. Cllr Hobbs said: “Working together with residents and partners helps us to tackle issues like crime, anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and alcohol and drugs misuse at local levels.

“The event provided the perfect opportunity for people to get an insight in to the fantastic work going on to ensure communities are safe.“

Link to WCC