London streets get UK's first booze-free zone
March 4, 2002 Posted: 0220 GMT

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- British police said on Monday the UK's first no-go area for street drinking had been introduced in the heart of central London.

Under new measures, people carrying alcohol in a designated area of the capital could be told to stop drinking and have the booze confiscated by police officers.

London police said the new controlled drinking zones, the first of their kind in Britain, would encompass a large area around Victoria train station, including streets around Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament, and stretching as far as the upmarket districts of Kensington and Chelsea.

Although police said the aim was not to introduce an outright ban on alcohol but to target drunkenness, the law allows officers to take action even if they only have a "reasonable belief" that someone is about to start drinking.

"If an officer has reason to believe someone is consuming alcohol, they can ask them to stop it and they can ask them for their alcohol," a Scotland Yard spokeswoman told Reuters.

"It's not an offense to drink alcohol in that area but it is an offense not to comply with the constable's requirements."

A recent survey by Westminster City Council revealed that street drinking was one of the most serious causes of crime and disorder.

Police said the area was notorious for "street drinking schools" made up of chronic alcoholics whose presence was intimidating for residents and tourists, and who were often victims of crime themselves.

"Victoria was an area where people felt particularly unsafe, with drunkenness being one of the main reasons," said Westminster councilor Robert Davis, who chairs the committee which approved the scheme.

"We believe that tackling this using new police powers will lead to a reduction in the number of people who are sleeping rough in the area."

The law allowing the no-go drinking zones was part of tough anti-crime measures promised by Prime Minister Tony Blair to target Britain's growing yob culture, with alcohol earmarked as a major cause of the anti-social behavior.

Despite a general fall in crime, there has been a sharp rise in street offenses, particularly in London, and in Britons' fear of becoming a crime victim.

A government survey last year found nearly a third of Britons said they never walked alone near their house after dark.

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