The “Are These For You “campaign was launched on Monday 4 July 2011, in the Chapeltown area of the city. This initiative is the next stage of a multi-agency campaign to combat underage drinking, antisocial behaviour associated with alcohol and the risk to young people.
The Ecclesfield Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) are working with other agencies including the Drugs and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT), Safeguarding Children and Trading Standards in order to protect young people from the harm of drinking alcohol.
In a survey carried out in 2010 with Y9s from the local secondary schools, young people told us that whilst under the influence of alcohol, they are more prone to risk-taking behaviour and making decisions, they have later come to regret.
In recent months, the SNT have been successful in tackling retailers who sell alcohol to under-18s. However, some young people have found other ways of either obtaining alcohol through proxy sales - where adults have purchased alcohol for them - or using fake ID.
The Ecclesfield SNT have designed the “Are These For You” campaign to combat both of these tactics. This is a two-phase campaign; the first phase is educational awareness, building on the existing Parents as Partners Scheme about the harm of underage drinking and its consequences.
Insp Steve Mouzer from the Ecclesfield SNT said: “It is a criminal offence to possess false ID documents or to pass someone else’s identification as your own for unlawful purposes. Any young person found committing this type of offence will be in the first instance, visited by a police officer to address the issue, with a view to preventing further occurrences.
“The second phase of this campaign will be to gauge the success by carrying out proxy test purchase operations, designed to test both the retailers and customers. So when going to buy alcohol in the Chapeltown area, you can expect to be asked, “Are These For You?”
Initially this campaign will be launched in the Chapeltown area of the city, however, it is expected to be rolled out across other key areas in the near future. The SNT and partners will work with local retailers, to raise awareness of the campaign and to educate staff of their responsibilities and remind them to challenge anyone where they suspect purchased alcohol is intended for a young person.
As part of the launch, members of the public will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about underage drinking, and their understanding of what is being done to tackle it. Promotional items such as pens and trolley mates will also be given away.
Tracey Ford of DAAT said, “Tackling underage drinking requires a partnership effort not just from agencies and police, but from parents and members of the public. This kind of initiative helps raise awareness about what agencies is doing and what the community can do to support us.”
Joined with this campaign is the piloting of the ‘ID Bailment Scheme’ whereby any ID documents that are falsely offered, as proof of age will be seized by the retailer. The Police will be working together with other agencies where the young person will be educated on the harms of alcohol abuse.