Tackling Plymouth's booze problem

Alcohol support workers in Plymouth have been allowed to interview suspects in police cells to help combat binge drinking and alcohol-related crime. The scheme is said to be one of the first of its kind, with more than 1,000 suspects taking part.

The police radio in Inspector Stephen Bickley's car crackles into life.

Help is urgently needed after a disturbance outside a hotel in the city centre. Two groups have been involved in a fight and two men have been arrested. One of them needs a car to take him to Charles Cross police station.

Inspector Bickley responds immediately and within seconds he is on his way to the pick-up point.

The young man is bundled into the back seat - judging by the smell of booze on his breath, it is clear he has been drinking heavily.

Nothing unusual in that - most of the calls Plymouth police have to deal with at night are related to alcohol or drug misuse.

Since licensing laws were liberalised in 2005, the police work into the early hours sorting out incidents of drunkenness, street fights and disorder.

It used to be all over within an hour or two of the pubs and clubs closing.

"We don't have big peaks where we have large accumulations of people anymore, but we do have fighting all night," says Insp Bickley.

"There have been occasions where our early shift have come on and they've had to deal with disorder that's still ongoing from the night before."

Although police, door staff and CCTV operators in Plymouth have a well-organised operation to tackle the anti-social behaviour and violence that comes with excess drinking, senior officers believe they need to do more.

"How many years have we dealt with problems over and over again where we've got sexual assaults, violent assaults, criminal damage - where drink's behind it," says Chief Superintendent Jim Webster, the police commander in Plymouth.

"And if we just arrest the offender and just take care of the person who's drunk and ill, at that time do no more, then the problem's going to keep going over and over again."

Consequences of drink

Police looked for ways in which they could engage at an early stage with people whose drinking had brought them into contact with the criminal justice system.

They decided that it had to be done soon after they had been arrested.

"At that point people are pretty open to a conversation, people are sobering up and they can see the consequences of their drinking," says Chief Supt Webster.

"So it's a great time to get in touch with people, to really speak to them."

The "conversation" with suspects about their drinking takes place in the custody suite at Charles Cross - a large, cavernous area, on two floors, with 42 cells.

At night, the suite is like a "whirlwind", says one custody officer, with suspects being booked in, and officers and doctors carrying out checks on detainees.

Walking the corridors, you can hear banging coming from the cells - the sound of people bashing the heels of their shoes against their beds.

But it is in the morning, when things have calmed down, that alcohol support staff carry out their interviews, first asking suspects whether they want to take part.

In the first four months of the scheme, between March and June 2007, 85% agreed to do so - just under 1,000.

'No difference'

I was allowed to sit in on one interview, conducted by Mark Nevin, an alcohol support worker, with a 22-year-old man who had been arrested the night before for allegedly being drunk and disorderly.

He had been spotted trying to open the sun roof of a car. When police arrived they accused him of being abusive.

Mark begins by asking the man how much he drinks.

"Twelve to 20 pints," comes the gruff reply.

"How often do you drink that much?" asks Mark.

"Daily," the young man says.

The questions continue for 10 minutes, with marks given for each answer. At the end of the interview Mark tots up them up and says the man has scored 29 out of 40, which means he's in the "dependant" category of drinkers.

But then, to Mark's surprise, the man declares that he "hasn't got a problem". He says he is just a young guy having fun with his mates, and if his drinking gets out-of-hand in the future, then he will seek help.

Intervention crucial

All that Mark can do is hand over leaflets about drink awareness, with phone numbers to call if he needs more help.

He admits leaflets themselves won't make a "blind bit of difference", but the initial contact the man's had just might.

"The fact they have spoken to someone that is saying 'look, there is somewhere to get help' - that's the important bit, that's the intervention," he says.

"That is the most difficult thing, them actually picking up the phone. But if they have met someone it can help."

Six months into the scheme, it is too early to gauge whether it is a success - although other police forces have shown an interest in developing their own versions. Similar projects are already under way in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

But a large number of suspects with alcohol-related problems are at least being assessed and given basic information and advice about their drinking, and in a small number of cases they are referred for follow-up appointments.

Dr Adrian Barton, from the School of Law and Social Science at the University of Plymouth, who is monitoring the programme, says it shows there is an unmet need for more alcohol support services.

"You could probably refer 70-80% of the people who went through this project but the services are not available at present," he says.

"You can't refer people to services that are not there and that is part of the problem."

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