Night-time economy under police microscope

Monday 19 December 2022

Bailiwick Law Enforcement have been working to tackle the increased number of alcohol related incidents which occur around the festive period as we get closer to Christmas.

Police say that by the middle of December, more than 500 licensing checks were carried out at outlets selling booze over the previous month as part of Operation Ultraviolet, which is also looking to provide “robust responses” to driving, disorder, sexual assault, and spiking offences.

Plain clothed officers have been employed to watch out for any incidents within the night-time economy, whilst the road policing unit have been ramping up drink drive checks throughout the evening.

Guernsey Police added that whilst they encourage people to enjoy their time out, fear of being assaulted or taken advantage of is at the forefront of officers’ minds. 

Ruari Hardy, Head of Law Enforcement, recently told Express that additional alcohol added to unobserved drinks is likely the main means of spiking locally.

Police claim that spiking offences are often “difficult to prove”, but encourage anyone with suspicions to report it, seek medical help, and investigations will follow.

Pictured: Retailers selling alcohol have recently been inspected.

Acting Chief Inspector, Operations, Liam Johnson, said that people can “drink to excess” over the Christmas period which increases the risk of harm to themselves and others.

“This Operation is seeking to ensure that people in our community can go on a night out without fear or worry of what someone else might do to them. We want to get drink-drivers off our roads and bring people who look to take advantage of others in front of the courts,” he said.

“To do this we are employing a number of different tactics: we have consistent high-visibility patrols out in Town on evenings, and we are also putting plain-clothed officers into Town. Our Roads Policing Unit is patrolling the outskirts of Town to stop drink-drivers, and any investigations into offences linked to the operation are being expedited and reviewed to watch for any patterns of behaviour. 

“We are very aware that there has been an increased concern about drink spiking in recent months. While there is no forensic evidence of systemic drink spiking occurring in the Bailiwick, that does not mean it is not happening and the operation has allowed us to put a focus on this area.”