Licensed premises to be tested (From Salisbury Journal)
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Licensed premises to be tested
9:20am Tuesday 19th March 2013 in News By Elizabeth Kemble
LICENSED premises in Salisbury and the surrounding area are being tested this spring to see if they sell alcohol to underage teenagers.
The test purchase operation, led by Wiltshire Police, has so far seen two out of nine city centre premises fail by serving a couple of 15-year-old volunteers. At the Chapel Nightclub in Milford Street and the Slug and Lettuce in Bridge Street the two teenagers were not challenged by door staff or those working behind the bar, and were not asked for ID.
The members of staff who made the sale to the teenagers have been offered a fixed payment penalty of £80 as opposed to prosecution. At a Salisbury Area Board meeting on Thursday, Inspector Andy Noble of Salisbury Police said: “The overall objective is to reduce the number of alcohol-related arrests.
“It doesn’t surprise me that one or two businesses have failed, no system is infallible, what we want is for traders to become used to this kind of testing as it encourages them to up their game.”
He said follow work is done with premises who fail the test, and newsagents and shops will be tested as well as pubs and clubs.
The seven other venues, which challenged the 15-year-old girls and either refused them entry or stopped them from buying alcohol, were the King’s Head, The Mill, The Cosy Club, Moloko, the New Inn, The Cathedral Hotel and the White Rooms.
