2:34pm Saturday 14th August 2010
By Emma Streatfield
A GROWING number of boozed-up young women – dubbed ladettes – are getting in trouble with the law in Hampshire, the Daily Echo can reveal.
Police issued 346 on-the-spot £80 fines to women aged 16 to 20 last year for drunkenness, disorder and other offences.
Force chiefs say the problem is particularly bad in Southampton, which last year was named the third worst city in the country for alcohol-related violence.
The man in charge of policing the city centre told the Daily Echo he had seen an increase in the number of drink-related incidents involving women.
Inspector Phil Bates said: “I have been a police officer for 28 years and the number of women being out in public getting drunk has increased.
“The problem has grown. It’s not what I would consider epidemic or something that causes me huge alarm, but the fact it is increasing is something we need to address.”
In the past women diffused a violent situation, but nowadays they are often the ones fighting, he added.
Hampshire police handed out the eighth highest number of onthe- spot fines to 16-20 year olds in England and Wales.
Merseyside topped the board with 1,996 fines and Lancashire second with 1,455 fines, while one of the lowest was Gwent with only 11.
On-the-spot fines are an alternative to court proceedings, but their use depends on the individual’s record and whether they were repeat offenders.
They were brought in to reduce the amount of time officers spent dealing with such cases and allowed them to remain on the streets for a longer period of time.
Inspector Bates added that police had worked hard to reduce drunken behaviour in the town centre in partnership, with the city council, with initiatives such as the launch of a yellow card scheme in June.
Door staff or cops issue cards for drunk and disorderly behaviour, violence or possession and use of drugs, with two cards causing a year-ban from pubs, clubs and bars in the city.
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