TEENAGE drinkers in Kirklees are being targeted with a new alcohol testing strips initiative.
The strips are being used as part of the Kirklees Anti-Social Behaviour Challenge across Mirfield, Batley and Dewsbury.
They change colour depending on the level of alcohol in a drink and will be used by officers to test bottles and cans of soft drinks where they believed youths have poured alcohol into them.
Anti-Social Behaviour Challenge Coordinator Det Sgt Jim Griffiths said it was a positive way to prevent alcohol-related incidents and associated anti social behaviour.
He said: “Those who are found on the streets with a bottle of alcohol know they will be stopped and will have it seized.
“Some therefore place the alcohol into unmarked containers such as water bottles or cans of soft drink to hide the fact they are drinking.
“These strips enable the Neighbourhood Policing Team officers to pick out all those who are drinking on the streets and make sure they take the alcohol from them.
“This kind of intervention is key in the prevention of anti-social behaviour and is a method we shall continue to use. The strips do not contaminate the drinks and are simply a useful indicator to the officers.”
Det Sgt Griffiths added that in the past week of the Kirklees Antisocial Behaviour Challenge, officers had made 41 stop searches in known anti-social behaviour hotspots.
There had been several hours of high-visibility patrols in the park areas of Mirfield, Dewsbury and Batley.
As part of this, a number of cannabis warnings had been passed out during the patrols.
Eleven visits to local off-licenses had also be made in the area.
Also as part of the Kirklees Anti-social Behaviour Challenge, a joint operation with the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency vehicle clamping unit took place which resulted in 16 untaxed vehicles being clamped over two days in Dewsbury, Mirfield and Batley.
The Police off-road motorcycle team have also been patrolling the Spen Valley Greenway – a pedal cycle and pedestrian route. Officers from the ASB Challenge had found a youth on an off-road bike the previous day.
