ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour will be the focus of the Chester Outer Neighbourhood Policing Unit (NPU) this summer.
With the arrival of the summer holidays, anti-social behaviour is anticipated to become an issue for people in the area.
But NPU officers will be taking positive action to nip problematic behaviour in the bud.
Sergeant Anton Sullivan said: “We have run similar initiatives during other school holiday periods and have already seen great success.
“Many of the issues surrounding anti-social behaviour are centred around alcohol misuse and this will be one of the main thrusts of the initiative.
“We are working closely with off-licenses and other retailers in the area, via the ArcAngel scheme, to limit the availability of alcohol to young people.
“This involves educating shop workers, using point of sales notification – using the ArcAngel brand – and carrying out rigorous enforcement.”
The summer operation will see a dedicated team of police officers and police community support officers out on the streets of Chester Outer NPU to deal specifically with anti-social behaviour and all surrounding issues.
Sgt Sullivan added: “The operation will run until August 31 and during this time we will be doing everything in our power to address and prevent anti-social behaviour.
“We will seize alcohol from youngsters, pay close attention to problem areas, make regular visits to off-licenses and carry out regular high visibility patrols across the NPU.
“Where necessary we will also use Direction to Leave powers which enable us to disperse groups of young people from a particular area and prevent them from returning within a set period of time.
“These measures have all proved extremely successful in past operations and will be utilised once more to take steps to ensure the summer of 2008 is enjoyable for everyone.”
If you have problems with anti-social behaviour, contact Chester Outer Neighbourhood Policing Unit on 0845 458 6375. There is a voicemail facility.
