Two Police Constables who are Community Officers with Police Scotland in North East Edinburgh have won a national award for their work tackling underage drinking and promoting the health and wellbeing of local young people.

PCs Lauren Mitchell and Ania Morrison each received the Chair’s Award for their outstanding contribution at an event at Westminster on June 27.

This is the second time that the pair have been awarded for their roles within the NE Edinburgh Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP). In 2022 they were awarded the CAP of the Year prize.

Over past year Lauren and Ania have been involved in a huge range of events designed to educate young people about the risks of under-age drinking. These include:

• Organising a litter pick with young people on Portbello beach. During the break Lauren and Ania spoke to the youths about some of the alcohol bottles/cans that were collected. The young people were rewarded with pizza and ice-cream at the end of the litter pick.

• Lauren and Ania invited local young people into Leith Police Station for a tour of the building. Once the tour was complete they used the “drunk goggles” and played a number of games to help show them what being under the influence of alcohol may feel like.  

• Lauren and Ania secured funding to arrange a “Keep Fit” event for young girls. Thinking outside the box was a main factor for this event as they didn’t want to go with the usual “football” or “dance” events. In the break, the pair talked to the girls about underage drinking and the risks associated with it.

PC Lauren Mitchell and PC Ania Morrison comment:

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“We have come far in terms of addressing underage drinking but there is still lots to do. Policies and restrictions alone will not put a stop to this problem. It can only be achieved through continuous education, collaboration and diversionary tactics. CAP is the key factor in achieving this goal. The connections we have made through CAP allow us to reach further than our roles within the Police would allow us. We have been able to utilise resources that we were not aware existed to expand our work and achieve greater outcomes. It is essential that CAP’s work is being continually promoted so that it attracts more people who want to get involved, as greater “CAP community” means greater results”.  

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