A new Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) highlighting the risks of underage drinking to children and young people has been launched in Coatbridge. The official launch took place on Wednesday 11 December at Tesco at the Faraday Retail Park in Coatbridge.

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CAPs are partnerships between police, local authorities, schools, and retailers who work together to highlight the risks of underage drinking and improve the health and wellbeing of local children and young people.

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The newly formed CAP in Coatbridge will work to educate young people about underage drinking and ensure that they are equipped to make the right decisions about issues such as alcohol, drugs and anti-social behaviour. Working with local retailers, the CAP also aims to prevent underage sales and ‘proxy’ sales, where adults buy alcohol for under-18s. Alcohol free activities for young people will also be highlighted. The activity of the local CAP will be coordinated by community police officers based in Coatbridge.

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Sergeant Gerry Canning, who heads up the Community Policing Team in Coatbridge, believes that the CAP will allow partners to promote a health and wellbeing message to young people, allowing them to be better informed about the harm that alcohol can cause. Sergeant Canning said:

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“There is no doubt that young people can face difficult challenges in their lives, particularly around alcohol and drugs. That’s why we need to encourage conversations with young people, parents and carers about underage drinking and the risks and harms associated with it. We have an established CAP in Airdrie, which is working well and is getting lots of good engagement with young people, schools, youth organisations and local retailers. The CAP in Coatbridge will follow a similar model but with priorities that recognise local concerns, identified through online surveys that will be carried out in early 2025. I’d encourage anyone staying in the Coatbridge area to watch out for the surveys and make sure they take part.”

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Kate Winstanley, Director of CAP said “We know from extensive research that underage drinking can lead to school and educational problems, as well as unsafe sex, drug-taking, violence and drinking problems in later life”

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‘We also know that the work CAPs do in local communities can lead to significant reductions in alcohol supply to children, alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and underage street drinking in local communities. It’s great to see local partners coming together in this new CAP to highlight the risks of underage drinking and reduce alcohol harm among our young people.”

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For media information, please contact: Samantha Patel, Communications Manager sam@communityalcoholpartnerships.co.uk.

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