Pull the plug on underage boozing

Last week, a 38-year-old male went into licensed premises at Shawbridge Arcade and purchased two bottles of low-end fortified wine for a 14 and a 15-year-old.

The man has been reported to the procurator fiscal as a result.

Inspector Paul Quinn at Pollok police office told The Extra: “Incidents like this are particularly difficult for us to detect.

“We are now working very very hard with the local licensed premises to prevent youngsters from being able to buy, but it is difficult for us to take control of the situation when the person who makes the purchase is of age.

“Youths being bought alcohol fuels anti-social behaviour and it is a persistent problem throughout the southside.

“We are looking for assistance from the public to inform us when they see things like this happen. We base a lot of our crime detection on local intelligence.

“I would ask any members of the public who know where this is happening to contact us an we’ll act in.”

Meanwhile, Newton Mearns south councillor Ian McAlpine has congratulated the effort by police, wardens and youth workers for controlling the problem in East Renfrewshire.

He said: “Previously, especially behind the Broom shops where a park bench was set on fire, there were many incidents of antisocial behaviour as a result of alcohol.

“But thanks to measures taken to curb this problem, things are nowhere near as bad as they were a year ago.

“I just hope the effort can continue, and local people do everything they can to prevent a rise during the summer.”

Both underage drinking, and antisocial behaviour related to underage drinking can be reported via Police Scotland’s new 101 service.

The introduction of the 101 non-emergency number allows the public to contact the police, to report a crime that does not need an emergency response, to get advice, or speak to an officer.

The new number will help make police more accessible to communities and reduce pressure on the 999 emergency system, as well as helping officers to cut crime by making it easier for the public to pass on information.