CAP was piloted by the Retail of Alcohol Standards Group (RASG) in 2007. The model and evaluation framework has since been extensively tested with the result that CAP is now considered one of the most effective ways of tackling localised undderage drinking with over 200 projects across the UK.

The very first CAP scheme was set up in in the small market town of St Neots in Cambridgeshire in 2007. The St Neots CAP contained all the ingredients of the now familiar CAP model, bringing together retailers, police, trading standards, schools, and alcohol services working in partnership to tackle very specific indicators relating to underage drinking a clearly defined geographical area using a mix of education and enforcement. The St Neots pilot CAP delivered significant improvements:

• anti-social behaviour decreased by 42%;
• under 18s found in possession of alcohol decreased by over 90%; and
• the volume of alcohol litter was reduced by 92%.

A second CAP was piloted in Kent in 2009 at the instigation of the Kent Police, who provided additional resource for an independent evaluation by the University of Kent. This was a larger scheme, with three centres of operation following the now familiar CAP fomula and with additional resource for diversionary activity for young people. Again the evaluation was positive and this paved the way for the development of more CAPs.

By the start of 2020, 210 CAP schemes had been set up across the UK.

For more information on individual CAP schemes, see our Case Studies section.