Revellers urged to make it a Christmas to remember… for the right reasons

Police are urging revellers in the South West to be on their best behaviour as figures show one in three violent crimes on the region’s railway last Christmas were alcohol-related.

Our officers arrest more people for violent and public order offences at this time of year than for any other type of incident, with 73 such crimes being recorded in the South West.

Of those offences, nearly a third were alcohol-related, and officers are now carrying out extra patrols and encouraging passengers to keep a clear head in a bid to reduce the national rise in violence seen on the rail network in the run up to Christmas.

Chief Inspector John Angell from BTP said: “We want everyone to have fun but every year we see passengers getting into trouble on the rail network because they’ve drunk more than they usually would and behaved in a way they wouldn’t dream of if sober.

“That’s no fun for anyone and last Christmas alcohol played a significant part in the violent crimes we investigated.

“We believe they could have been avoided if people had just drunk a little less and thought about how alcohol affects the way they behave and the impact this has on other passengers.

“Our priority is making sure everyone gets to their destination safely and you will see more of our officers on the network helping people to enjoy the festivities, nipping any anti-social behaviour in the bud and deterring any violence.”

Find out more: http://btpne.ws/Clearhead