Graham Ogilvy finds out how Carnoustie is tackling the problem of teenage alcohol abuse.
A pioneering scheme to crack-down on the scourge of under-age drinking in the quiet Angus town of Carnoustie has been a dramatic success and offers Scottish police forces a blueprint to use the tough new powers granted to them last week by the Scottish Office.
Operation ''Dry-Up'' is part of a Teen-wise Alcohol Project launched by Scottish Health Minister Sam Galbraith two months ago and has already borne fruit.
The firm but friendly approach of the Carnoustie police belies the military-like precision with which they have cleaned up the town. In one operation on one night last month a prison van was employed and 60 under-age drinkers were lifted and taken to the local police station where they were given alcohol advice before being taken home by their, often horrified, parents.
At the same time, plain- clothes police officers made unscheduled visits to licensed premises to keep an eye out for under-age drinkers and for anyone buying drink for under-age youths.
Repeatedly over the last two months the pattern has been the same. Known haunts of under-age drinkers are monitored by plain-clothes and uniformed officers. Under-age drinkers are taken to the police station and their parents are summoned. Those found to be carrying weapons, drugs or committing a crime are taken to nearby Arbroath police station to be charged. Well over 200 under-age drinkers have been caught in the ''Dry-Up'' net.
Even those youths who are not found to be under-age drinking have their names and addresses taken and their parents are notified by letter that their child was found in a location used by under-age drinkers or for the consumption of ''other substances''.
The entire offensive has been accompanied by alcohol-free discos and concerts and educational activities.
Operation ''Dry-Up'' has not been heavy-handed or over-the-top. A combination of high-profile beat policing and old-fashioned paternalism has paid off and the results this weekend were there for all to see, or, more properly, not there to see.
The groups of youths swigging alcohol and intimidating passers-by were gone. So too were the broken bottles and jagged beer cans that once littered the beaches, public parks and gardens. But police still picked up a 13-year old, so drunk on straight vodka he was unable to stand unsupported.
It was concern among police and local citizens at the growing nuisance posed by groups of drunken youths that prompted Tayside police to tackle the problem.
THE police survey of 1618 pupils of Monifieth and Carnoustie High schools alarmingly bore out the anecdotal impressions of a real under-age drink problem in a resort community famed for its golf links. Inspector Rod Bowman, explained: ''Of the pupils surveyed only 32 had never tried alcohol. The survey revealed that many pupils spent as much as #10 per week on alcohol and that more than one in three under-age pupils had bought alcohol.
''We were concerned at the number of youths congregating in the High Street and in the burgh's parks and beaches. Many of them were drinking high-alcohol content beers and ciders and, of course, vodka out of Coke tins -- with no real idea of the strength of what they were drinking or what it could do to them.
''Under-age drinking tends to lead to disturbances and drink-related crimes. Intoxicated youngsters can be a danger to themselves and others and we felt that, after discussions with parents, teachers, community groups and Tayside Council on Alcohol, it was appropriate to launch this operation.''
Some of the survey results were eye-opening and offer support to those campaigning against alco-pops and for tougher enforcement of existing licensing laws. Among 11 to 12 year olds 141 were found to drink alco-pops; 132 15-year olds drink once a week and 665 of the under-age pupils were found to buy alcohol themselves from supermarkets, small shops and off-licences.
Inspector Bowman revealed: ''Most parents are pretty mortified when they are called down to pick up their child at the police station. One of the big problems is parents not knowing where their children are. They tell mum and dad they are going one place and end up at a different place altogether. We have had instances of drink leading to under-age sexual activity and of drunken under-agers being deserted by their friends.
''We are pleased with the impact of Operation ''Dry-Up'' so far. But there is no room for complacency. We have to continue with our efforts, backed up by proper alcohol education.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article