Police seized alcohol from 67 people who were drinking in the streets of Northampton town centre at the weekend and ordered 17 people to leave the town, as part of a new booze crackdown.
Senior officers say they are “pleased” with the results of the new approach, which was brought in this month to tackle alcohol-fuelled disorder and violence in Northampton on Friday and Saturday nights.
Police say they have adopted a “lower tolerance” towards disorder and drunkenness.
Inspector Vaughan Clarke, from the alcohol harm reduction team, said: “What we want is a town centre that is vibrant and fun, where everyone can come out to enjoy themselves in safety. Officers are taking low levels of tolerance to those who are, or who are likely, to stop that happening.
“Since the beginning of July, we have changed the way we police Northampton town centre on Friday and Saturday nights. We are adopting a lower level of tolerance to drunken behaviour, particularly that which may lead to violence and anti-social behaviour.
“We are using the powers we have to prevent problems escalating and dealing with them when they happen.
“For example this weekend, on Friday and Saturday nights, we seized and disposed of alcohol from 67 people who were drinking in the street – the Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) introduced in Northampton in 2009 allows us to do this.
“We also removed 17 people from the town centre, either by detaining them in the mobile custody suite, or using other police powers ordering them to leave, because their behaviour had deteriorated to a point that they were a risk to themselves or others.”
The force’s new alcohol harm reduction team was launched at the beginning of this month to tackle alcohol-related violence and disorder.
The team is also working with Trading Standards and the licensing trade to stop illegal sales of alcohol to under-age customers and those already drunk.
Drink Banning Orders, which ban people from going to pubs and buying alcohol from certain premises, will also be considered for those who cause persistent problems.
Chief Inspector Dave Spencer added: “I’m really pleased with the results we’ve seen and it’s still early days. We are already making real headway in our mission to reduce alcohol-fuelled crime across the county.”