'PSNI best placed to confiscate alcohol' says Antrim and Newtownabbey Council

A report presented at a meeting of the council at Mossley Mill, noted “a small number of hotspot areas”.

The report was a draft response to a consultation by the Department for Communities relating to drinking in public places which is part of an anti-social behaviour review to consider if councils should be given enforcement powers such as fixed penalty notices and to seize alcohol.

Currently, by-laws prohibit the consumption of alcohol within designated areas with fines up to £500.

The PSNI can issue a fixed penalty notice to those over the age of 18 for being drunk in a public place or for disorderly behaviour and can confiscate alcohol from those under 18 who can be prosecuted for persistently possessing drink in a public place and if caught three or more times within a 12-month period, could face a £500 fine.

The council says although the consumption of alcohol in public places in the borough is “relatively low”, there is a “small number of “hotspot areas that would benefit from heightened enforcement activity”. It is considered the system is “largely effective in controlling the issue of public consumption of alcohol”.

Antrim DUP Councillor Paul Dunlop commented: “There are isolated hotspots within Antrim as in other areas across the borough where public drinking is an issue especially under-age drinking and the nuisance around broken bottles and vandalism attached to it.

“It is more a weekend thing but can heighten at different times through the year as witnessed at the Halloween weekend.”

However, council has indicated its officers don’t require enforcement powers to issue fixed penalty notices as “given the current low level of incidents of on-street drinking in the borough and the bureaucracy associated with adopting these additional powers, it is felt that this would be a disproportionate response to the issue”.

Glengormley Alliance Alderman Julian McGrath said: “The consultation is asking if council officers need more powers of enforcement but the reality is that any problematic public drinking can often be associated with public order offences which are correctly dealt with by PSNI. I believe this current process is still the best course of action.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter