Police in under-age booze blitz

Eric Baxter • Published 29 Jun 2009 14:00

UNDER-AGE drinkers as young as 12 were caught in a police blitz on youth disorder in upper Port Glasgow.

At the weekend, police descended in numbers on the area - a hotspot for youth violence - in an operation designed to keep the peace during the school holidays.

Operation co-ordinator, Inspector Graeme McDiarmid, said similar initiatives elsewhere in Inverclyde in November and February had cut disorder significantly.

Friday"s operation saw 15 youngsters aged between 12 and 16 taken by police to the night"s HQ at Port Glasgow High, where they were offered activities to help keep them off the streets.

Inspector McDiarmid said not all were under the influence of alcohol, although some were in groups of drinkers.

Their parents were called to the school and looked shocked and embarrassed as they and their children were given counselling on the risks of young drinkers becoming involved in crime or ending up as victims of it.

Inspector McDiarmid said: 'We got them off the streets by 8pm. Another three hours of drinking and they would have been going berserk, causing all sorts of trouble.'

Another 42 teenagers responded to police leaflets inviting them to go to the school to see a range of organisations offering activities they can do in the summer.

These included break-dancing, Port Glasgow boxing club, the Prince"s Trust, James Watt College, the air and army cadets and the Scots Guards.

Inspector McDiarmid explained: 'Youth disorder takes up 80 per cent of our time in upper Port Glasgow. A police survey has shown it is the thing that most worries residents in the area.

'We often hear youngsters saying they have nothing to do. But the organisations at the school are showing them there is plenty to occupy them during the holidays and beyond.'

A total of 79 litres of booze were confiscated, including bottles belonging to nine adults who were drinking in the streets.

Teams of officers patrolled the area to find pockets of under-age drinkers. The operation was mounted by the Inverclyde Initiative in conjunction with the Scottish Government"s "No Knives, Better Lives" campaign, which is being piloted in Inverclyde.

One squad led by Sgt Danny Godfrey came across four teenagers with carry-outs on the cycle path to Kilmacolm, two of them 16 and the others 18.

John Ross Reilly, 18, watched his cider being poured out on to the path by Sgt Godfrey. He said: 'I"m only socialising with my mates. I work all week as an apprentice tiler. We"re not fighting or stabbing.'

Another group of nine teenagers were spotted drinking on a grassy hill off Bardrainney Avenue. They included a 13-year-old boy who appeared to be under the influence and was carrying a can of lager.

He and his friends were drinking cider, lager, vodka and Buckfast.

Inspector McDiarmid said: 'We took in slightly less than expected, but the evening was a great success.

'We had a lower number of calls for youth disorder on Friday night and we hope this operation will lead to a more peaceful summer holiday period for the people of upper Port Glasgow as well as a better one for the young people.'

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This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 29 Jun 09

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