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City launches Community Alcohol Partnership


A range of public service partners in the city have come together to address issues around young people's alcohol consumption in Cardiff.

 

A brand new Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP), bringing together the council, health board, police and other partners, has been established to tackle the consequences of 18 to 25-year-olds drinking high levels of alcohol.

 

Around 160 Community Alcohol Partnerships have been established across the UK toencourage local partnership working, primarily to tackle underage alcohol misuse and associated anti-social behaviour.  CAP is unique in that it recognises that retail is part of the solution and has been shown to be more effective than enforcement alone.

 

Cardiff's CAP was launched by Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales, Alun Michael, Chair of the CAP Board, Derek Lewis, and Cardiff's Council Head of Performance and Partnerships, Joe Reay. The initiative is being led by the Cardiff Community Safety Partnership.

 

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: "Establishing a newCommunity Alcohol Partnership in Cardiff gives us an opportunity to build on the excellent work carried out by the Community Safety Partnership in the city and get to the root of the issues caused when young people drink to excess.

 

"Many people in this age group are unwittingly putting themselves in vulnerable situations that can have serious consequences, as they may have to attend an alcohol treatment centre or potentially become the victims or perpetrators of crime or anti-social behaviour.

 

"By working together, we can pool our efforts into ensuring that people can continue to enjoy socialising and relaxing in the city centre but with a focus onreducing crime and anti-social behaviour associated with excess alcohol so that everyone feels safer as a result."

 

A multi-agency steering group will now lead the work of the Cardiff CAP and are in the process of developing a plan to put actions into place which will address the issues identified. These actions will include training, student activities, education in various settings, effective data sharing, setting up alcohol-free events and much more.