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DETERMINED to combat underage drinking ... Jim Dobbin
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MPs call time on teenage boozers
Dave Appleton25/ 8/2007
A REVIEW of the legal drinking age is necessary to combat the rise in booze-fuelled violence by young people, say two of Rochdale’s MPs.
Jim Dobbin, whose Heywood and Middleton constituency includes Castleton, Norden and Bamford, supports a rise in the drinking age to 21 – as suggested by a leading police officer in Cheshire – but only as a last resort.
“The main difficulty, as I see it, would be enforcing it. It would need a total culture change.
“How would the police enforce it? To me that is a huge, huge problem that would have to be answered before we should even consider increasing the legal drinking age to 21.”
Mr Dobbin acknowledged the problem caused by underage drinkers and drug users, particularly in Castleton, which has been blighted in recent months by gangs of beer and lager-swilling youths.
“Serious consideration must be given to increasing the drinking age if this bad behaviour is to be curtailed, but one of the root problems is the lack of parental control.
“Children, some as young as 13 and 14, have been seen in the streets in the middle of the night and this surely is the responsibility of parents.
“The problem is that their parents are often out drinking at all hours as well, so perhaps the 24-hour drinking law needs looking at, too.”
However, Mr Dobbin emphasised that most youngsters were well behaved and it was only a small minority causing the trouble. “You only have to look at such things as the music service which is attended by hundreds of youngsters every week.
“The government also spends up to £700M a year on youth facilities, so it’s not true that youth drinking is caused by the fact that they have nothing to do.”
Mr Dobbin also said people who knew of off-licences selling alcohol to underage drinkers should report their concerns to the police.
It was a stance echoed by Rochdale MP Paul Rowen who is encouraging young people to sign up for a Citizencard as proof of age.
He says the police and Rochdale Council are taking steps to reduce alcohol-fulled anti-social behaviour.
But he says: “I think it right to review the age that people can buy alcohol periodically.”
He also believes more trust should be put in young people.
“After all, it is only a minority that spoil things for everyone else. Young people, just like traders, should act responsibly.
“That is why I took the positive step of sending more than 1,000 young people a Citizencard last week.”
Mr Rowen said he would also like to see Rochdale Council take a zero tolerance approach to any off-licences selling alcohol to anyone underage.
“Any businesses legally licensed to sell alcohol should work harder to protect local residents by insisting that anyone buying alcohol has proper identification.
“The message should be: If you are old enough – prove it.”
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29/08/2007 at 14:21
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