In the run-up to the festive period, Police will be out and about across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight targeting alcohol related violence.

As part of this crackdown, posters with the tagline: ‘Offender or Victim? How will your night end?’ will be displayed on the sides of large vans that will be travelling around the county throughout December.

The posters also contain hard-hitting images showing the same person being both the aggressor and the victim with injuries that could have been sustained in a drunken brawl.

The vans will target areas across Hampshire where revellers will be out drinking and celebrating the festive season. 

The campaign will be running from 9pm to 3am. The campaign schedule showing dates and locations is as follows:

• 5 December - Basingstoke
• 6 December - Aldershot
• 12 December  - Gosport/Fareham
• 13 December  - Havant/ Waterlooville
• 19 December  - Winchester
• 20 December –Eastleigh
• 24 December - Portsmouth
• 31 December – Southampton

Hampshire Constabulary’s chief constable, Alex Marshall, wants police officers and staff to look in particular at dealing with alcohol-related violence, which accounts for almost half of all violent crime.

Mr Marshall said: 

“I don’t think we have a problem that is particular to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; we have a problem shared by all police forces. What I’m concerned about is that alcohol-related violence occupies many of my frontline staff.

“We answer calls every day where alcohol is at the root of the problem and we put a large number of police officers out on our streets at the weekends to deal with people who’ve had too much to drink. Those people often end up filling up our cells on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

“I’d prefer my police officers to be out patrolling neighbourhoods across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, catching burglars and preventing crime from happening in the first place.”

Between April and October 2008, serious violent crime across the two counties was down 15.3 per cent on the same period last year.

 Mr Marshall continued: 

“There is already a lot work conducted as part of our Safer Streets campaign that is aimed at preventing violent crime. I want to make sure we build on this.

 “As we approach Christmas and the New Year, our message is enjoy yourselves and drink sensibly. What we won’t tolerate are those people who ruin it for themselves and others by drinking too much and becoming violent.”

On a typical Friday and Saturday night up to three quarters of all A&E attendances are as a result of alcohol and nearly one third of all deaths that are a result of alcohol are from injuries sustained while drunk.

Mike Webb Hampshire’s Alcohol Strategy Co-ordinator said:

“We are working together to ensure that people can go out and enjoy themselves in the evening without being the victim of an alcohol related crime.

“Knowing your limit in terms of alcohol consumption is an important part of this as 40% of all violent crime is alcohol related.”

Hampshire Drug and Alcohol Team (DAAT) are working with Hampshire Constabulary as part of this initiative.