Inspector Andy Morrice of Lincolnshire Police has received the Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) hero award. He received his award from Alun Michael, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales at the annual CAP celebration which this year took place at the Welsh Assembly.
PCC Alun Michael said: “Andy has been the driving force behind the Boston CAP since its launch in November 2016. He has forged new relationships with off licences, created effective partnerships with retailers and involved the CAP in a wide range of community events. Most impressively, he has personally driven the CAP’s engagement with secondary schools, which were previously reluctant to get involved. This has brought some great results, including a recent survey of young people at Boston Grammar School that revealed weekly drinking levels had dropped to just over 1%. Through his efforts, the CAP has also achieved impressive reductions in underage drinking, street drinking and anti-social behaviour. Many congratulations to our CAP hero Andy.”
CAPs are made up of partnerships between retailers, local authorities, police, schools, neighbourhood groups and health providers, working together to empower communities to tackle alcohol-related harm to young people and improve the quality of life for residents. Its 2018 annual report, launched at the event, shows how this innovative partnership approach has positive impacts on underage drinking, anti-social behaviour, litter, residents' feelings of safety and underage/proxy alcohol purchase around the UK.
CAP Chair Derek Lewis said: “In spite of welcome evidence that fewer young people are drinking alcohol, British children are still more likely to binge drink and get drunk than children in most other European countries. Regular or excessive drinking can be seriously damaging to their health and development while increasing the risk of over-consumption in later life. CAPs offer an evidence based, proportionate and locally tailored response to underage alcohol problems.”
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For media information please contact: Julia Shipston, Communications Manager at CAP: tel: 0771 3163003.
Notes for Editors
• The first CAP was set up in St Neots in 2007 and 162 have now been launched across the UK.
• For more information, see our website at www.communityalcoholpartnerships.co.uk and follow us on Twitter: @CAPUKTweets