Police urge sensible drinking over the Easter weekend

People intending to go out and make the most of the four day bank holiday weekend this Easter are being urged to drink responsibly and avoid becoming another crime statistic.
..
.

The long weekends traditionally see more people going out to socialise in bars and pubs and with that, police see an increase in the number of serious sexual offences and violent crimes reported.

Research shows alcohol plays a key role in this type of crime and police want the public to take some responsibility for their actions and help curtail the number of victims.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Welton, force lead for Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP), said: “The incidents of serious sexual offences are always at the highest on weekend evenings when more people are out in town drinking. Obviously, bank holiday weekends means there are extra days to go out socialising and with that comes an increase in the number of people reporting serious sexual offences.”

Police are urging people to drink sensibly and take steps to ensure they don’t become another statistic.

DCI Welton said: “The figures tell us that the largest group of both the offenders and victims are aged 18 to 30, alcohol is almost always involved and vast amount of cases of rape reported at a weekend involve people who have met someone while out socialising and ended up alone with them.

“On many occasions the offenders committing these offences are making decisions fuelled by alcohol they would not consider making when sober. Equally, the victims in these offences would usually never go off on their own with someone they have only just met but again, they make irrational choices because they are intoxicated.”

Additional police resources will be on duty over the bank holiday weekend to assist with the policing of the expected increased demand including extra police officers with relevant, specialist training in supporting victims of sexual offences.

DCI Welton said: “Becoming a victim of rape can be devastating for an individual and many find it affects them for a very long time afterwards, some never getting over the distress of the Similarly, an offender who is found guilty of a serious sexual offence will end up on the Sex Offenders Register and will be severely restricted in many areas of their life because of this.”

Humberside Police are encouraging responsible drinking and are asking people heading out for a good night with friends to consider following some basic advice.

· Stay with your friends - safety in numbers.

· Never go off with someone you have just met.

· Think about alternating your alcoholic drinks with a soft drink.

· Ensure you have made arrangements for getting home.

· If walking home stay to well-lit roads, avoiding alleyways and cut-throughs.