A new Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) highlighting the risks of underage drinking to children and young people has launched in Whitstable.  

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CAPs are partnerships which are set up within the local community to 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 partners include:  Kent County Council Trading Standards, Kent Police, Canterbury City Council and Whitstable Street Pastors.

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The first focus of the CAP will be on retail support. Working with local retailers, the CAP aims to prevent underage sales and ‘proxy’ sales, where adults buy alcohol for under-18s.  

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There are also plans to develop work to educate young people about underage drinking and help them to make better decisions about issues such as alcohol, drugs and anti-social behaviour.

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Sergeant John Woodward, of Kent Police, said:

‘Kent Police is proud to be working alongside the Whitstable Community Alcohol Partnership to tackle the harm caused by underage drinking. Alcohol misuse among young people not only puts their health and safety at risk, but it can lead to anti-social behaviour that affects the wider community.

‘By supporting local retailers and engaging directly with young people, we can help them make informed, positive choices in relation to alcohol consumption.’

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Kate Winstanley, Director of CAP said “We know from extensive research that underage drinking can lead to lots of challenges for young people in their education, relationships, health and also in later life. We also know that the work CAPs do in local communities can help reduce things like the supply of alcohol to children, alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and underage street drinking. That’s why 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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She continued: “We are looking forward to seeing the initiatives that the CAP is working on and to making an impact in the local community.”

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