Plan to make Wolverhampton an alcohol-free zone

Police will be given the power to seize alcohol from people drinking on the streets of Wolverhampton under proposals being considered by the city council, it emerged today.

The authority is reviewing plans to implement a city-wide order that would allow police to prosecute people caught drinking in the street.

There are currently four so-called Designated Public Places Orders enforced across Wolverhampton, with legislation enforced in the city centre, Tettenhall Green, Phoenix Park off Dudley Road and in Bilston.

But the council now wants to introduce a citywide DPPO as a more cost-effective alternative to dealing with individual applications.

The authority's head of regulatory services, Andy Jervis said: "The city council will be looking at the possibility of introducing a city-wide designated public place order but it's early days yet.

"A strategic city-wide approach could be a quicker and more cost-effective way of introducing appropriate controls than the current way of doing so, on a place-by-place basis.

"It's important to point out that though these orders are often called 'alcohol bans', they do not prevent people from drinking alcohol in public.

"They allow police officers to use their discretion to determine whether they should ask someone to stop drinking because of their associated anti-social behaviour."

Under a DPPO, police officers and police community support officers can ask anyone believed to be consuming alcohol to stop drinking and the alcohol can then be disposed of.

Previous orders have been welcomed by members of the public at various meetings in the areas that they are enforced. It is estimated that there are 36,000 harmful and hazardous drinkers aged between 15 and 64, and 6,200 people who are regarded as dependent drinkers.

Last year, it emerged that alcohol abuse was costing Wolverhampton £19 million a year. Mr Jervis said a report on a city-wide order could be considered by cabinet later this year.

By Crime Correspondent Shaun Jepson