Night Marshals out, breathalysers in as police bid to curb town centre drunkenness
Breathalysers have been handed out to pubs in Selby as police launch a fresh bid to curb drunken behaviour in our town's pubs and bars.
Selby
The new test kits will be in use at a number of licensed premises in town where they will help stop people who have had too much to drink from getting in and consuming more alcohol.
Door staff at each venue will still retain discretion over an individual's drunkenness but, under the new scheme, a breath reading of twice the drink drive limit or higher will now greatly increase the chances of a reveller being refused entry. Not everyone will be breathalysed, just those who are suspected of having already had too much to drink.
Sergeant Carol Kirk of Selby's Safer Neighbourhood Team said, "Being drunk makes people more vulnerable. Their judgment and perception become altered and they are more likely to act recklessly. The breathalysers will assist door staff when challenging people who they believe have drunk too much.
"Although licensed premises work hard to serve responsibly, this is not always an easy task when people drink at home before going out.
"We want everyone to enjoy themselves when they are out for the evening, and not have their evening spoiled by people who lose control when they have drunk too much."
But news of the high-tech tool's deployment comes just amidst criticism that North Yorkshire Police and its commissioner is not doing enough to tackle anti-social behaviour in Selby's night-time economy.
Just over a week ago the York Press reported that Commissioner Julia Mulligan had called time on Selby's previously successful Night Marshal team. The marshals had already been drastically scaled-back to Bank Holidays only as the commissioner looked to make big savings on the force's operational budget.
Town Councillor Gavin Harding (Lab, STC North Ward) has lead a campaign against the cuts and told the paper, "People going out in Selby are at risk and the Night Marshals did a good job.
"There's been cutbacks to CCTV, police cells have gone and now there's the night marshals. It's ridiculous what has gone on in the last four years."
Selby now joins York, Northallerton, Scarborough, Whitby and Malton amongst the towns and cities in North Yorkshire where police have issued breathalysers to pub doormen.
♦ Are the breathalysers a good idea or are they just a cheap gimmick to distract from cuts to policing Selby's night-time economy? Scroll down to leave your thoughts...