The naming and shaming of parents is just getting silly & would ultimately become a hall of fame. A majority of youngsters drinking come from low income families who aren't in a position to pay fines and no doubt would end up costing the legal system dearly as fines came into default and they required processing by the courts.

This is a social issue which instead of the police addressing are trying to redirect. In their ultimate wisdom they moved teenagers from the streets only to make them harder to find or watch as they cause problems.

In my local there have been several petitions to have a set of goal posts setup for teenagers - the local authority advise there is no money. They same teenagers who want to play football Saturday morning now spend the weekend wandering the street with no purpose being moved by the police - being moved by the police is something to do as a few have told me.

James, Glasgow, Glasgow

This has more to do with a police force that has no interest in dealing with this kind of antisocial behaviour. I live in the area this poor man was murdered by those pieces of scum and i have video of a neighbour attempting to kick down my front door. And threatening to kill us.Now when i showed this to the very same cheshire constabulary police force what did they do. They cautioned the guy then they investigated me because there were complaints that i had a cctv camera. The camera was in place because of vandalism to my car by this individual. I live in padgate warrington which is run by these thugs. The police are not interested period. They advise you to avoid confrontation but will give you a crime number to support a claim on your property insurance wether that be a car, your house or whatever. It seems to me the police are becoming more of a cash revenue service these days. Maybe they should seek sponsorship from inusrance corporations i think they'd like that.

simon lomax, warrington, uk

This policeman should not use his office to express political views. If that is what he wants to do he should stand for parliament. In the meantime, he should get on and do his job of enforcing the drunk and disorderly laws passed.

William David, Winchester,

This country has turned into a joke and I for one am leaving for good in September. We keep on seeing new reports about how crime is falling, everyone apart from the statisticians knows the reality. There has now been some talk of raising the drinking age to 21, why when there is no enforcement of the current laws. Anyone can see driving around certain housing estates after dark that there will be large groups of underage drinkers congregating. The police at best on rare occasions will confiscate the alcohol. The correct solution would be to lock the teens up in the local police station cells and then call the parents to come and collect them. The inconvenience of this alone would force many parents to start taking a bit more notice of what there children are doing, fines should be given for any further occasions. There would be of course a hard core of really bad parents who either don't collect or modify there children's behaviour social workers should deal with these cases.

Mike, Liverpool, UK

This country has the worst policiing I've ever seen. As an enforcement officer in the states thugs like these teenagers would have been arrested, sent to prison long before they killed this poor soul. CCTV is great for finding the body after the fact but on the street cops must be seen to do more than ticket drivers or go after people who pay tax and will show up at court. The easy targets are the people who are being murdered by these thugs and the police need to do more than hire 16 year old community support officers as a means to save money, policing in England is a joke, bring back frontier justice.

Frank, London,

In France, beer can legally be consumed at 14.They do not appear to have the same problems as British society currently does, yet it is easy to get drunk on beer. We seem to be failing to address the real issues as to youth behaviour- it's out of control. Adults need to take back some power to be able to discipline younger people (not violently, but without being afraid to mean it).There is a total lack of respect for rules, from smoking on the bus to intimidating people in the street. Young people aren't always drunk when they're behaving like this.Young people are being given too much freedom and this is what leads to the kind of trends we are currently seeing. A purpose of youth is to learn and develop yet we now live in a society that seems afraid to teach. The focus is all on children's rights & freedoms & this needs to be readdressed because it is counter-productive to give people who are not mature enough to deal with it all the freedoms of adults.Bring back youth clubs too!

L, Manchester,

Its not just bad parents or industry that is the problem but the ridiculous and sickening leniency in the punishments.
What is needed is a really tough zero tolerance approach like the kind adopted in Singapore.
It’s because of such an approach that over there you don’t get any of the trouble and trashy behaviour from youngsters that you get over here.

Vivek, London,

Our culture won't/can't face up to the truth about alcohol . Alcohol is a mind -altering substance that has profound effects on how we perceive reality. It is not a benign or harmless substance and as wiser people than me have said , in the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
I am pessimistic about efforts to curb consumption and feel that it is probably too late to do much about it as drinking is too deeply embedded in our way of life.

willie mccrellis, larne,

This is just the results of Blairs lunacy, and thank goodness super casinos have been abandoned.

Licensing laws were introduced during the Firdt World War to stop drunkeness among the munition workers as they were so highly paid.

Some 90 years later history repeats as ypougsters with too much money end up consuming vast amounts of Police time and resources.

Bring back the old and tried licensing laws and make life safer for those who pay taxesand rates.

Charles Horne, Chicheester, Sussex

If Blair and his mob had only been taught history properly, they would have known why we had the restrictive drinking laws we did and why it would be absolutely stupid, heinous and downright dangerous to change them. Of course parents should be responsible for their children, but increasingly this is not the case.

To return to the laws we had will increase the violence from disappointed youth so may be a few years of capital punishment back on the books will be needed to calm things

Roz , ST NEOTS, England

Perhaps it is the cynic in me that believes the alcohol industry is fully aware of the problem but wishes to capture their market at their most impresionable age, creating a market for their products in later life. No regard is given to the effects of alcohol on the long term health of their victims or those that suffer in the short term by the antisocial behaviour of persons (not just youth). How can they justify their position when yet another family is left in ruins, another victim of underage drinking. Perhaps the supplier of alcohol to these youths should be charged as well with manslaughter, they are as responsible as the accused? Raise the age of purchasing alcohol to 21 and punish those that supply to youths vigourosly to highlight the seriousness of the problem. We are too focused on the drug problem when the equal danger (at least) is the supply of alcohol to those who are not able to control or recognise the dangers associated with consumption. My condolences to the bereaved

PAUL, Lee on Solent, u.k

This problem will never be solved by attacking the parents of these criminals, which I agree is the natural response by most of us. At the heart of this social problem are the liberal attitudes that have established themselves in the judiciary, media, education, law enforcement and social services. Parents are ultimately powerless to control a 15-year-old if they chose this lifestyle. Once a parent's armoury of punishment and control is depleted there nothing left for the child to fear. Fathers especially are undermined and have no real power. These yobs know their rights. The police are giving up and shifting the focus to soft targets such as parents and drinks suppliers - who can blame them? They are supported by a judicial system that has no teeth, which itself has been shaped by weak politicians elected by idealist voters. For every parent that is at fault there is a policeman, teacher, politician, social worker, and voter that is equally responsible for the society we now have.

Gary Legg, Godalming, England

Damn heffing straight it's parents fault. The parent has the sole responsibility of bring up a child to be a decent, honest, hardworking citizen. Neither the police, schools or social services have the authority or persuasion to bring up every single child in the country. Sadly, now, the a lot of parents feel as though they can't discipline their child effectively thanks to laws introduced by the government and reported in the media. Either that or they are too busy trying to 'enjoy' life themselves to spend enough time with the children. If supernanny has taught anybody anything, it is that attention from a parent is all children require - to be shown that someone cares and to be a guiding influence. Attention seeking through drink and violence is a substitute that is explored through simply no alternative being available.

AK, Birmingham, UK

Naming and shaming only has a chance when the people named will actually feel ashamed. It should be patently obvious that large sections of our society feel no shame for any depth of abysmal behaviour these days. Clarity in the law; robust enforcement; consistent government policies; morality as part of education... all of these are essential and yet clearly lacking today.

Question: why are large sums of money gifted to the BBC when its popular output panders to the very behaviour that is the subject of this article?

Brian, Southampton, UK

While I also substantially agree with Mr Fahy, the real issue is that the police fail to respond to incidents such as those which led to the tragic death of Mr Newlove, citing manpower shortages/ other priorities.
Try to illicit a response from the police for anti-social behavior and you wait forever (from personal experience). What is failed is be appreciated is that a zero tolerance/ pro-active approach deals with the issue alleviating future problems. Mr Weaver of St Austell gets it right, with a robust enforcement/ sentence approach, sadly for Mr Newlove's family the erosion of respect within society may have gone too far for that to have any effect!

James Ryan, B,ham, UK

How anyone can possibly say that the yob youth culture is just down to the drinks industry is out of touch with what is really happening in society. I watched this chap on the TV expressing his views and they remind of the same sort of simple short sighted and distructive view point of the avaerage amercans, who support and fund Aids projects in Africa but only if they don't advocate the use of condoms.
As if just one element can be responsible, more shoudl eb done to support the family unit in the country and the family values where parents are respected along with elders and children (including teenagers) are controlled because they are there responsibility. We continually have a culture where the only teenagers only goal upon leaving school is to sit on the dole and get money from the state "because they are owed it". The more that is done to condone and exclude this type of behaviour by families the better.
We already have drink laws, they just need to be used and not abused.

Jason Lee Horn, Hemel Hempstead, England

It is with interest that I listen to what is being said and done about drunken violence and abuse and I say that the government is 100% responsible for the state of affairs. The reason I say this is that the authority and the power to act against these young thugs has been taken out of the parents hands and they can only stand by and watch in despair. Should that parent raise his/her voice, or heaven forbid, their hand to their offspring in chastisment, they stand a very real threat of ending up in court for child abuse and having thier children taken away from them, and most probably losing their jobs for being named and shamed in court.
The second reason is a purely financial one. By banning alcohol, as in the case of cigarettes, the government is cutting off a vast income from the production and sale of alcohol.
The final reason is the health of the population. It is alarming the number of death, violence and abuse that is caused by alcohol. Research would be frightening

Ruth, Runcorn, Cheshire

i do not understand why parents of my childrens friends are allowing their 13 year olds to drink alcohol, openly in the home.
Do kids of this age really need drink to enable them to have a good time?

izzy, oxford,

Mr. Fahy: You have hit the nail right on its head!

Norm, Guelph Ontario, Canada

When tdrunkenness in public is criminalised, the problem will be eradicated. Just as a motorist is commiting a crime drink/driving in publin, so should drunk pedestrians, since they are equally capable of causing road accidents - to innocent motorists. Drunkenness leading to unacceptable behaviour is detestable and should be punished.

Jim T, Solihull,

Every little corner shop seems to sell booze; the supermarket has the booze aisles next along from the nappies; completely barmy.

Doug, Birmingham, England

Raising the drinking age wont help. As a teenager (in the past!) getting hold of alcohol was not a problem.
Its lack of discipline, poor parenting and kids having more rights than adults. You confront bad behaviour they call the police ( who will arrest you) stating you molested them or hit them or whatever. Teenagers are not fools. They milk the system.
Until discipline is restored, kids rights are reduced to that of children, police on the beat and inadequate parents are tackled, nothing will work.

Richard, London,

Tough on, er; tough on the causes of, er.

David Masu, Zürich,

This terrable situation that has arisen that a man has died looking after his own . But look at the age of the people that have been arrested whats that got to do with 21year olds i dont think we need look at licenced pubs clubs etc we need to look at the likes of supermarkets that will sell a bottle of beer for the equivalent of 50 pence a bottle i think a few members of parliament should look at who comes out of supermarkets and most of all corner shops

david, Redruth, Cornwall

the quran calls alcohol an abomination and the satan's handiwork, it opens a door to other evils. 1500 years before when islam came to land of arabia barrels of alcohol was spilled out on the streets never to be fillled again,a lesson for humanity but will they take heed.

ismail assenjee, preston, uk

In the States we have cheaper alcohol prices but nothing like the problems seen in the UK.
But then we do have police forces who are in evidence on the streets and can be at an incident very quickly. As far as I can see you have few police and senior officers who make excuses for having incompetent policies.
We have political correctness but you have it as well as indifference to the publics real needs.

Minnie Ovens, LA, CA, USA

What is the point of raising the drinking age to 21 when the current age limit is not enforced? We have all the laws required in this country to tackle just about any crime, the big problem is that they are seldom enforced. Making more laws is a cosmetic band-aid to placate the public. Get real - the Police MUST get out in the streets and do the job they are paid to do, although I fully agree that parents have a vital role to play too. This cannot go on, it is affecting everybody in the country and will cause a meltdown if it continues.

Alan Tavender, Fareham, Hants

I have to say that this government and their advisers and whatever are totally far from the real world.
I see everywhere groups of youths in east London smoking Cannabis and Marijuana.
They sit with their Dogs on playgrounds and frighten other children which want to play on the ground.
Now it looks like drinking comes on top of that.
Especially young female teenagers running around in mini skirts and drink until they can't stand anymore.
Police patrols are everywhere and what does it help?
I would say the only thing would really could help is to give the power back to the parents and put a curfew on children under 16 from 8PM in the evening.
Congratulation to all these fine organisation to protect children!
Here is what you get if you make children untouchable.
Knife killing, vandalizing, drinking, drug addicted children with a totally messed up future.
On the long run these children will be sick and die in 20 to 30 years.
Is there nobody out there with a common sense???
Nobody?

Khalid, London, United kingdom

Congratulations to Chief Constable Peter Fahy for carrying out his civic duty by speaking out against the drinks industry and the advertising that supports it.
More policemen should be allowed to speak freely, not just the higher ranks.

Too many of our cities are being turned into outlaw and no-go areas and the rest of us have to pay for the policing of these yob customers of the drinks companies.
If the drinks companies want this sort of trade make them pay for the costs of maintaining civil order through punitive taxes.

The rest of us are being bashed punitively by these yobs, as can be seen from the news.

K. Urban, London, UK

It's the culture, poverty, education, and bad parenting, not alcohol companies, that socialise these kids. Underage kids drink in Japan, Korea, Scandinavia, France, Spain, and Italy with far less violence and anti-social behaviour resulting. I'm a Canadian teacher in London and classroom behaviour here is absolutely atrocious. Drinking is a huge part of youth Canadian culture too, but there is nowhere near the same respect-lacking feel to many nights out even in the largest cities. It's all part of a much larger problem than beer prices.

B Main, London,

If the strenght of beer, lager, cider, etc is reduced to a maximum of 3.5 degs then this will slow the rate of getting drunk and also effectively increase the price of alcohol. There is no reason for lager at over 5 degs other than getting drunk quicker. Real Ale is now following this trend.

Mike Gerry, LINCOLN,

Why is it that alcohol prices are being blamed? In comparison to most other European countries, British prices for alcoholic beverages really are already quite high. Also, I do not see how raising the legal drinking age to 21 will have much of an influence on 15-year olds' drinking behaviour as opposed to a better enforcement of controls on said age limit.

Personally, I find that the abuse copious amounts of alcohol, and not just by youths, would appear to be almost a 'cultural' problem. I have lived both in the UK and in Germany, where alcohol is much cheaper, and found that the problems described in this article are especially apparent in Britain. I would ascribe this 'binge-drinking' culture as being partially the result of pubs closing at 23:00 in the past and everyone attempting to be drunk before this time. New closing times mean that as long as this old practice remains, so will all the associated problems. A complete cultural change appears to be the only solution!

Martin, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

In every case of a drunken child, or associated antisocial behaviour, someone has sold that child the alcohol (or tobacco for that matter). It is an offence to sell alcohol to a child, or to a drunken person. After conviction the removal of the licence to sell alcohol is normally considered.

When was the last time anyone was convicted of these offences?

In the 1980's, it was routine for every person arrested for an alcohol related offence to be asked where it was purchased. Such data was then collated and followed up with occasional prosecutions. What has happened to such basic police work?

Proposals to raise the age for purchase of alcohol (or tobacco) are quite pointless if the police cannot or will not enforce the existing law.

Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Greece

To James in Singapore - how can the police do their job when not given appropriate backing by government?

To John in Maidstone - totally agree.

jill, yobsville, uk

Making more rules is not the answer. The more we politicise the domestic unit, the less responsibility parents (a) feel obliged to take, and (b) are allowed to take! A well-meaning but invasive barrage of Legislation has left parents and would-be parent figures either too indifferent or too manacled to teach children the difference between right or wrong.

Children who should be learning basic lessons about authority and responsibility when they are five or six are being confonted over their behaviour for maybe the first time only when they are fifteen and smashing somebody's car.
Gary Newlove was murdered as he tried to let some teenagers know what is acceptable and what isn't. On a different day he would have been prosecuted, and that's just wrong.

We all want to protect our children, but this is what happens when we forego the right to punish them when they do wrong.

Albert Bowkett, Youth Worker, Hereford, UK

The Police yet again looking to blame everyone but themselves for the breakdown in law and order. If the police actually did the job they were paid to do, the rest of us would think twice before breaking the law. Some hope though!

Ian blaber, Bristol, England

I must say I am so sick of today's youth. Saturday night in casualty when my father was taken ill was an eye opener. All but three of the two dozen patients were drunk, injury laden by reason of fighting, stabbing, glasses in the face. It is disgraceful. It is about time these useless parents did some parenting instead of spending their time on their own selfish pleasures. Most young boys are mono syllabic mongrels with the intelligence of something to be found at the bottom of a pond. And the feckless girls are no better turning their noses up at everything as being "disgusting or boring". So - as for tomorrows parents - god help us

Jenny, Bristol,

I agree with Mr Fahy's observations, but focusing on alcohol leaves more fundamental questions around youth violence and anti-social behaviour unanswered.

There appear to be increasing numbers of incidents in which youths challenged for their behaviour not only remind their challenger that they cannot be touched and know their 'rights', but in which they viciously attack their challenger.

Those young people with violent dispositions, have been raised in an increasingly apathetic political environment, in which politicians talk about being tough on crime, but actually listen to the politically correct do-gooders instead of the majority of the electorate, and shrink from their responsibilities, just like the parents they accuse (often rightly) of neglecting their duty.

All people, especially the young, need to be made to earn the rights they have been so liberally given. They need to understand that with those rights comes responsibility. Finally,punishments need to be severe!

Will Richards, droitwich,

James, are you for real? I, and many other people, would applaud Mr Fahy for this statement. He's patently not taking his lead from Whitehall mandarins.

In stark contrast to the ludicrous positive spin from those responsible for education, Britain's kids are NOT getting more clever. Rather, many people unfit for parenting are producing predictably sociopathic and permanently useless offspring, and alcohol is not exactly helping.

Maybe I'm getting too old, but I'm beginning to believe that calls for stronger controls on violent films / video games, alcohol and cretinous gangster rap are actually sensible. Freedom of choice has a limit. People need to be reminded of the social contract, or there's no hope.

Better sex education for those who appear incapable of raising children may help too. I never thought I'd advocate social engineering / eugenics, but there you go.

David, Manchester, UK

I think Weaver is perfectly correct. This country wil bring back discipline when the courts become more worried about the Victims' human rights than about the criminal - after all, the criminal didn't worry about the human right of the person they offended against, did they?

The 'complete-lack-of' Justice system in this country makes me sick!

R Carter, Birmingham,

The Warrington accused are fifteen and sixteen years old. They are too young to buy alcohol under the present regulations. How will increasing the minimum age address this?

John, Hull,

I agree that underage drinking is a problem. However raising the legal limit will only cause to create more crime as people who have been drinking responsibly 18-21 simply ignore this law. And the major problem is the obviously underage people, they are being sold the alcohol now when it is illegal, so how will this stop by simply raising the limit?

Police should perhaps take part in stings where they send in 16 year olds to buy booze and if successful, shut down the shops.

And with regards to what Weaver said, I fully agree, but this will not happen until we remove our "softly softly politically correct" approach to criminals. Why be scared of a jail with full internet access, a warm roof, and 3 reasonable meals a day. Maybe it is not exactly how I picture it (and I am not likely to find out) but this is how it seems.

And it is not always possible for a parent to stop their 16 year old child from going out and drinking. I would love to know how you could stop it.

Andrew, Middlesbrough, England

When will we all wake up and realise that if you can walk into a supermarket and purchase alcohol at a third of the price one has to pay in pubs we will continue to get this problem ? It is well known that youngsters are fuelling up with cheap booze before they commit their dastardly deeds. We did not get as much of a problem before we relaxed the sale of alcohol and let every Tom, Dick and Harry sell it.

Peter Green, Marlborough, Wilts

Whilst I agree that parents have a part to play in this, I worry about the 'soft target' mentality of the police and other authorities in this country.
Unruly kids? blame the parents.
Kids missing school? fine or lock the parents up.

The sweeping statements and generalisation we are seeing about our problems are not an answer, and if the police and the courts have no deterent effect on teenage yobs it's probably more the result of a culture that won't let parents do their job and discipline their kids than it is in any parental irresponsibility. Furthermore when the police can't deal with a problem, offloading that problem to someone else is an all too common trend.
It is also not helpful to have one section of society screaming about parents not doing their job and keeping kids under control at the same time as another section telling them they're abusing their human rights when they do.
Yes, there are parents who aren't up to the job, shouting at them won't change a thing.

Steve Plows, Peterhead, Scotland

Its about time that police were given their powers back and allowed to sort out trouble on the street rather than dragging kids through the courts when all they need is a good hiding.

No corporal punishment isnt nice but neither is an out of control youth "culture" that thinks it is inviolate and can do what it likes without consequence. Talking wont solve the problem, neither will "alcohol awareness programmes" There need to be consequences for actions not just ASBOs and community service orders. We dont need to know or see how every offence is dealt with.

If we cant trust the police and given them the authority to deal with trouble on the ground then its time to leave

Sickofitall, London,

Punishing parents will only reinforce the idea that teenagers do not have any responsibilities, they only have rights. These probably are the same type of teenagers that would sue their parents and call social services if they are being punished for their misbehavior.

On the subject of drinking. Do not punish the drink, punish the drinker. Issue and collect fines from the "light" offenders (noisy, foul) and build more jails with the money for the worst offenders (violent).

We need a crack down on violence and intimidating behavior.

Carmen, London,

My partner and I now regular leave our home (near to the town centre of a small town) at weekends to avoid the stress caused by children (14 - 17) left to run riot. We have to phone the police at least once a week (for the last 18 months) and only on 1 occasion were they able to arrest a youth (who was drunk and aiming footballs at motorcyclists 'for a laugh').

Some of these children have complex problems - some do not! Every parent should take this as a warning and think hard about whether or not they really know what their child is up to because this isn't high jinx - they are making peoples lives hell!

Shelley, Newbury, Berkshire

Not true crimes lower now than ever, ask any socialist.

wayne, huntingdon, cambs

Its not just bad parents but the ridiculous and sickening leniency in the punishments that is to blame.
What is needed is a really tough zero tolerance approach like the kind used in Singapore.
It’s because of such an approach that over there you don’t get any of the trouble and trashy behaviour from youngsters that you get over here.

Vivek, London,

The sheer impertinance of a senior policeman in blaming industry for the behaviour of underage anti social drinkers is another step in the degradation of a once fine service.
The reasons for the problem as described are more likely the destruction of the family as a matter of left wing policy, the failure of schools to teach even the most rudimentary skills to twenty five per cent of their charges and the cowardice of the police in staying in their "safe houses" rather than do what we suppose they are paid for.
Arresting good citizens who defend themselves against violence does not help either, but then that's easy isn't it.

colbeck, jersey,

I agree with the police chief,only 3 days ago I sent my local police chief a letter sayin much the same.The UK needs a massive culture shake up,alcohol is destroying society.Shut all town centre pubs and nightclubs,build out of town dance halls that are not policed.Let the brewers,lanlords etc take the responsibility.Stop all shops and supermarkets selling drink,nominate 1 or 2 local wine shops to sell drink.People cant behave socially anymore because of drink so stop it,this cancer needs removing.We have become out of control men/women.I am ashamed of our behaviour,I go to Corfu on holiday and the difference in behaviour is massive.Stand up mr brown and be counted,this operation needs a man for all seasons,a big man who can make us proud of our nation,can you be the new Winston,mr brown.

mackie, tamworth, staffordshire

There has always been a heavy drinking culture in the UK. It is not alcohol itself that is the problem; it is merely another way to facilitate bad behaviour, just as smoking dope or sniffing glue. As a sixth former and university student I drank to excess, but myself and my peers never harmed anyone and never got into fights. The problem is that we have an underclass of teenagers who have no direction, no adult guidance and no imagination. Teenagers have a sheep mentality, they fear standing out and not being part of a group and I dare say that if you were to take each one aside and ask them if they were happy with their behaviour the majority would say no, but they do it because they don’t have the strength to say no. As ever, it will be one or two dysfunctional, kids that lead the rest into trouble. Instead of looking to blame, a community has to start taking responsibility. Where were Mr Newlove’s neighbours when he was being set upon? Were they hiding behind their curtains?

Derry Smiles, London,

In this country you have a sixty to one chance of being attacked by a thug if you go out at night. That is an atrocious statistic.It is time for authority to show some teeth.

Michael Rigby, Chorley, England

No, the drinks companies don't have any "duty" whatsoever towards the problem of drunken youths. The reason that drinks companies are in business is to make a profit. Get used to it. There's no such thing as society. Everyone who voted for Thatcher knows that. This isnt a socialist country, is it?

Michael Tolby, Exeter,

To people who blame the absence of police, the politicians, the current "moral" standards, the lack of punitive measures - time to get educated about alcohol and alcoholism. None of this has a thing to do with fixing public drunkness.
Do it all -raise the taxes, raise the drinking age, put responsibility on parents for their children and hold the young people responsible - but only when there is a real committment to educating all the public about the issue of alcoholism. The science is indisputable - this is an inherited trait, much like a predisposition to diabetes. Treating it solely as a crime entirely misses the point, but treating the consequences as forgiveable because it's a disease is also useless. There is no one-note solution.

There are 21-st century solutions to this problem. No one ever died from too little drunkeness.

Danielle Donovan, Encinitas, CA, USA

I dont drink because my religion does not allow even one drop of alcohol. In the holy Koran, God has completely banned alcohol for us. Which is why we dont have this yop problem in our communites. We have other another problem - terrorism.

And like this alcohol issue highlighted by police, we also have do not know how to solve our issue. Any one got brilliant ideas?

Z Hussain, Rochdale, UK

The Chief Constable of Cheshire has said what most people think ! Already public houses and off-licences are being blamed for juvenile crime, when the blame should be directed at the parents of these juveniles. I agree that "robust law enforcement " is essential, in tandom with parents who understand and fulfill their responsibilties. Councils should also enter this equation, by evicting tenants of social housing, whose occupants commit and are convicted of any anti-social behaviour al crime. Then we may see a positive change in our society, its not rocket science, it just needs the political will and courage to implement common sence policies, for a situation that can only get worse.

deo, boston, united kingdom

The Chief Constable is diverting attention away from Mr Newlove's death by making the statement at this time. There is truth in what he says however. More to the point though, is the complete lack of Police on the streets, who should be building up local knowledge of trouble makers and problems within their area. I have heard the phrase 'strategic policing' mentioned many times, including by my MP when I have chellenged him over the lack of police. The reality is that stategic policing means sweeping up after an incident, not being to prevent or possibly deter the incident in the first place.

Andy, Frodsham, Cheshire

Well done the Chief Constable of Cheshire for saying something we all know. If other persons in a position of responsibility spoke out perhaps some of the things wrong with the UK would be addressed.

Tony, Larnaca, Cyprus

It is obvious the age for purchasing alcohol needs to be raised along with stronger punishments for those who sell to under age drinkers. A new garage local to me now has a license to sell alcohol, why?? Are drivers going to stock up whilst driving? no
In its urban location it will merely fuel the problem of under age drinking. Most weekends I am disturbed by youths shouting and swearing in the early hours passing my home, my car has benn subjected to mindless vandalism causing £1800.00 of damage and little interest from the police as they know the likelyhood of a conviction is low.
If alcohol were to be invented in todays "enlightened" society it would never be legalised, those who have been affected by the effects of alcohol (myself included) feel that urgent action is needed to curb the reliance of the youth culture on getting incoherent on a regular basis, losing all reasonable control and behaving in a manner that would probably appal then in hindsight.
Who's to blame?

PAUL, Lee on Solent, u.k

What is the point in raising the drinking age to 21 when the offenders are 15, they are already breaking the existing law of 18 years.

Andy, Winchester, Hampshire

The anonominity of young people committing serious crimes should not be protected by the law. If they act like grownups and increasingly committing grown up crimes,which they are,they should be named and shamed. This action will also reflect on parents and encourage them to be more responsible for their offsprings behaviour.

Thomas Stallwood, Malaga, Spain

one person who is at the head of one company is to blame and he is the prime minister who is running the government. He and they are responsible for what happens in this country and they are simply not doing enough to curb the yob culture that is taking this country by the throat and strangling it. They set the legislation on hand outs via the benefit system, why should people who have no ambition get off thier arses when they have the good old government to help them out by giving them housing benefits and child benefits. Bring back national service from the age of 16 for those youths that do not go onto Collage or University, Be tougher with punishing youths or others who steal from the hard working population of the the country in order to feed habits. The problem with todays youths is that they are fearless, they have grown up in a lawless society because its more hassle to deal with them than not. Manners, Respect and Discipline arn't earned with hand outs from the government.

WH, banbury,

I'm surprised it's taken so long to think about raising the legal age for drinking to 21. It was also reported last week that a large part of student's fees goes on drink. Two problem solved in one foul swoop.

It's the age - not the alcohol. I don't want to be prevented from having a beer outside on a street cafe. Ban the drinking within an age group - not the drinking.
And if the police actually punished these people by keeping them in their cells until they came up before the 'beak' - which would not go down well with their employers - they might start getting the message.

Phil, Preston,

As we in Gloucestershire rarely ever see a Police Officer, I cannot understand how they can even pretend to know what is going on their local areas. Although I have to say that I saw a police car as it whizzed by me recently - some two weeks ago.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

It seems even the police are not above this blame culture that exists today where everyone points the finger at someone else and nobody actually takes any responsibility. Its ironic because the police dont seem to mind taking the responsibility of driving away from us all by sticking up speed cameras everywhere. In fact they did the same in town centers by putting CCTV cameras all over the place in an attempt, I thought, to solve this problem of anti-social behaviour. Could it be that these cameras dont actually work and all the constant police surveillance does is serve to aggitate people even more?

Lets lose the cameras and get back to more traditional forms of policing. That way they might actually earn back some of the respect they lost, and we might have safer streets to walk.

Rod Munch, Northampton, UK

The naming and shaming of parents is just getting silly & would ultimately become a hall of fame. A majority of youngsters drinking come from low income families who aren't in a position to pay fines and no doubt would end up costing the legal system dearly as fines came into default and they required processing by the courts.

This is a social issue which instead of the police addressing are trying to redirect. In their ultimate wisdom they moved teenagers from the streets only to make them harder to find or watch as they cause problems.

In my local there have been several petitions to have a set of goal posts setup for teenagers - the local authority advise there is no money. They same teenagers who want to play football Saturday morning now spend the weekend wandering the street with no purpose being moved by the police - being moved by the police is something to do as a few have told me.

James, Glasgow, Glasgow

I live ina SE London suburb which has 8 large drinking establishments in a very small area mainly along the high street- these places are packed until 2am or later. After a certain hour you actually can't walk down this street for the groups of drinkers hanging about outside, shouting abuse etc. Also the numbers of punters walking from one dirnking den to another shouting and screaming. It is just not worth the hassle so I take another route. It's high time trhere was a limit on so many drinking dens in one place. It hasn't produced a 'continental cafe culture' where I am - visit Belgium etc and see the difference. Why do the British drink to excess? And then use it as an excuse to go round beating or killing people? As Weaver pointsout one minute someone wants wrongdoers in prison, the nextt someone wants them out and the endless obsession with an individual's right to do this, that and the other regardless of anyone else has lead to an inability to have any robust laws.

carole, London, UK

I spent many years at a boarding school, and while I myself do not drink most of my school friends did. Raising the price will do little as if people want to drink they will find a way to drink. What is required is a socio-cultural shift, showing young people that they can be social, they can be happy, they can have fun without needing alcohol. But as long as the concept of alcoholic beverages is considered 'ok' under the guise of 'responsible drinking' that will never happen. So our valuable police resources will be spent managing drunk ruffians instead of policing our streets, another great way to spent our tax pounds.

God Almighty says in the Quran, "They ask you (Prophet Muhammad) with regards to alcoholic beverages and gambling. Reply to them saying, There is great sin in them and also some profit, but the sin is greater than the profit"

Farrukh, Woking, UK

I agree with Weaver, St. Austell. My neighbour who is Goan was attacked by a gang of youths who kicked him to the floor, he tried to defend himself and managed to hold onto one of them 'til help arrived from a neighbour even though he was bleeding heavily from a wound to his head. Because the boy held received a scratch, they said my neighbour had attacked them, they were all white and smelled of alcohol. Common sense says one man wouldn't attack a group of 15 youths, but the law prevailed and they escaped justice for a racist attack.

But I also agree that the parents should get off their backsides and go and see what their kids are doing, often late at night. At intervals we are subjected to drunkenness, graffiti and damage from kids who have been drinking and smoking puff.

Christine in Hayes, Hayes, Middlesex, England

With regard to raising the drinking age to 21, since the undesirable behaviour in question mostly arises from anti-social drinking outside of licensed venues and instead on the unmonitored streets, by raising the drinking age this will just increase the problem. Alcohol will still be obtainable despite the age increase and the only difference will be that people are forced to drink outside in the streets rather than in a controlled environment, and thus leading to the sort of behaviour that resulted in Garry Newlove's murder.

As Weaver examples, it is the manner in which the law is enforced, not the law itself, that needs to be addressed.

Craig, Edinburgh,

Its not just bad parents but the ridiculous and sickening leniency in the punishments that is to blame.
What is needed is a really tough zero tolerance approach like the kind used in Singapore.
It’s because of such an approach that over there you don’t get any of the trouble and trashy behaviour from youngsters that you get over here.

Vivek, London,

It is time that punishment is seen to be real. Custodial sentences do not appear to deter anybody. They need to be shamed into changing their behaviour - bring back the stocks, what about public flogging??

Bring back homecraft in the schools; acknowledge that not everybody is academic, many are practical; make parenting classes compulsory at pregnancy; change working practices - give parents the choice of whether or not to work during their children's early childhood, rather than monetary pressure to have to work.

The content of television programmes should also be looked at, and perhaps withdrawn - from the cradle children are 'instructed' how to behave.

The age should be raised to 21 for drinking and perhaps driving.

It is time that the benefit system was looked at - it only makes people reliant upon handouts. Less money, but more positive help with supporting themselves. Bring back ambition!

Celia Godwin, Eastleigh, Hampshire

Look mate - we in the booze trade are pressured into drink sales by our suppliers: We all have hefty loans from the breweries to service for premises refurbishment and, unless we press customers to drink plenty - by creating an atmosphere of warm hospitality - we are down the drain with the dregs. The brewers representatives are on to us like a pack of wolves if we fail to hit targets set by them so, whether I agree with the policies or not, we all have to eat. Is it realised that the average take-home reward for publicans is around £30,000...........so drink up boys and girls so that we too can enjoy the fruits of our labours - and there is the Christmas bonuses to bear in mind - we are currently reminded - so cheers!

Derek Clifton, Andover, Hampshire, England

"Communities are under siege from a hardcore of antisocial, under-age drinkers while parents, drinks companies and the advertising industry ignore their duty to tackle the problem, a senior police chief said yesterday. "

I'm curious as to what this chief of police thinks his job and the job of his police force is.
Hosting inclusion seminars for 4 year olds?

Dominic, Manchester, UK

Raising the drinking age to 21 will only serve to criminalise, alienate and create resentment amongst those youth drinkers who do not cause any trouble at all. What will become of the 18-20 year olds who have, for almost three years in the latter's case, enjoyed their status as a legal adult? Or how about myself, who turns 18 in only 16 days? I have waited long enough while all my friends have been able to go to clubs and pubs legally, another three years might make me go insane.

The problem is that off-licences and many pubs are not strict enough when it comes to asking for ID. And many underagers have older siblings and friends, or even parents willing to loan ID or buy alcohol for them. The stigmatisation of alcohol only heightens its appeal, and therefore the appeal of drinking to excess.
The fact of the matter is that as young people are forced to become adults so much faster, they use alcohol as one way to make themselves feel like one.

Jb, CHaldon, UK

Mr Fahy is just one more hopeless public servant.
He would blame anyone but himself and his hopeless colleagues.
Politically correct policing and liberal sentences.
No one punished , nobodies fault .
All these young people committing crimes its just high jinks.
The hopeless Home Office would say anything to deflect attention from there own ineptitude.
They could have built prisons but all the money has gone on PR and gender awareness courses in Hawai.
You reap what you sow mr Fahy,the yob culture is not going away unless people like you do your job instead of playing the amatuer social engineer

James, Singapore, Singapore

The parents of offending under-age drinkers should be named and shamed as well as having to pay a significant sum to the victims of their behaviour - be it for repair of propertry or compensation for distress caused. This money should come straight from their bank accounts,salaries or benefits - each week or month for a painfully long period Their loathsome offspring should then be put to work for a couple of years cleaning graffiti, removing shopping trollys from canals, etc.l

John, Maidstone,

Parents whose children are targeted or attacked do not necessarily receive support from Local Community Safety Partnerships.

The relationships within the Police and other Community Concerns are not always straightforward.

Digory, Narnia, Scotland

The Chief Constable of Cheshire is living in an ivory tower and hopelessly out of touch with reality. As a former police officer I do not know of anybody who is satisfied with todays method of policing. The days of the village bobby, officers on patrol in major towns, have given way to the 'drive by' plastic police officer who does not even know how to apply and enforce the law. Put someone in prison one day and the next has someone shouting for the jails to be emptied. Yes, drinking is a problem, but what we want is robust law enforcement with sentences that punish sufficiently to make a mark.

Weaver, St Austell,