Pubs and bars around the UK will come under intense pressure from the Government this summer when it launches a six-week "blitz" on under-age drinking and loutish behaviour.

Next Friday (8 July) police from more than 60 different towns and cities will take part in a new campaign being launched by the Home Office to cut the level of alcohol-related crime and under-age drinking.

Pubs, bars and clubs will all come under scrutiny during the six-week campaign, with those establishments found to be selling alcohol to under-18s closed down.

The blitz is the culmination of measures announced in the Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England launched earlier this year, which called for police stings on pubs suspected of serving alcohol to under-age drinkers.

Local authorities will also be encouraged to publish lists of pubs, bars and clubs involved in the supply of alcohol to under-18s.

During the campaign information will also be collected on cheap drinks promotions such as happy hours and two-for-one offers.

If the Government's coercive approach does not work, legislation forcing pubs and bars to contribute to policing costs may also be introduced.

Home secretary David Blunkett first announced his plans to launch an enforcement campaign in June and confirmed the launch of the blitz at a conference on drugs and crime earlier this week. "We are no longer prepared to tolerate our public spaces becoming no-go areas for law-abiding citizens," he said.

The campaign will be directed by Paul Evans, a former police chief from Boston, Massachusetts, who now heads the Home Office's police standards unit.


Alcohol, crime and binge-drinking
- Alcohol misuse costs the industry about £20b a year through crime and disorder, injuries and illness and lost productivity in the workplace

- Young men are drinking 25% more in terms of alcohol units each week than they did in 1998, while women's alcohol consumption has increased by a massive 66% over the same period

- 59% of boys and 54% of girls aged 15-16 admit to have taken part in binge-drinking

- Amongst the European Union, the UK has the biggest problem with binge-drinking and the highest proportion of under-age drinkers

- 40% of violent crime is committed when the offender is under the influence of alcohol

- Almost one in ten 12- to 15-year-olds and one in three 16- to 17-year-olds admit they have been involved in antisocial behaviour during or after drinking


Operation optic
Police chiefs at Scotland Yard launched Operation Optic to clamp down on antisocial behaviour last weekend.

About 80 officers from the Metropolitan Police's territorial support group will descend on six London boroughs, including Croydon, Kingston, Ealing and Romford, on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in a bid to stop drunken trouble-makers causing havoc.

As well as arresting trouble-makers, police have the power to carry out covert tests on pubs and clubs they suspect of selling alcohol to under-18s, serving people who are already drunk or running irresponsible drinks promotions. Any establishments found at fault can be shut down for 24 hours.