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Short films used to deter adults from buying booze for kids
Hertfordshire County Council targeted shoppers in Watford’s Harlequin shopping centre with short films to persuade adults not to be irresponsible and buy alcohol for under-age drinkers.
The first film features a girl getting alcohol from home and the other shows a stranger buying a boy alcohol from an off licence. Both stories see the young person becoming drunk and vulnerable late at night in a public place.
Community Safety Partnerships in Hertfordshire are showing the films, with the aim to make the public stop and think about the dangers of supplying alcohol to young people.
Two short films have also been shown in other busy shopping centres, including the Maltings in St Albans, Welwyn Garden City's Howard Centre and Marlowes in Hemel Hempstead.
With the centres being so busy in the lead up to Christmas, when the temptation to allow youngsters to drink is particularly high, the short films have reached as many as 890,000 people in the last month.
After the films are shown, members of the public are asked to sign a pledge to never buy alcohol for anyone under the age of 18 and to make sure alcohol in the home is not easily taken without their knowledge.
Everyone who signs the pledge receives useful information about sensible drinking and local community safety groups.
Richard Smith, county councillor, executive member for community safety, said: “Not only are adults who buy alcohol on behalf of underage drinkers irresponsible, but they are also breaking the law.
“Alcohol misuse is a major contributing factor to anti-social behaviour and violent crime, particularly among young people. We’re asking people to make sensible choices to prevent underage drinkers getting into vulnerable and dangerous situations,” the councillor added.
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