PUBLIC drunkenness arrests have significantly decreased in Hampshire in the last five years.

The county constabulary says that its work with retailers that sell alcohol has helped keep trouble off the streets.

A study by healthcare specialists From Mars showed that the number of public drunkenness arrests have decreased by 68% in Hampshire since 2016.

This was the second best reduction in the UK, and the county was only beaten by Leicestershire Police.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary said: "We believe this decline is primarily due to the work we do with licensed premises around appropriate sale of alcohol to reduce over-intoxication, which in turn reduces the risk of offending.

"Our Licensing Teams’ key objectives are to prevent crime and disorder, keep the public safe, prevent public nuisance and protect children from harm.

"We will continue to work closely with the licensed premises across the county to ensure that the correct measures are in place in order to keep achieving these objectives."

The total number of arrests of this nature in Hampshire was not shared by From Mars.

However, it revealed that the Metropolitan Police Service recorded the highest total arrests in 2020, with 17,277 apprehended for the public order offences.

The Met has also topped the list for public drunkenness arrests in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Despite having the highest total for these years, the number of public drunkenness arrests has decreased in London from 2016-2020 by 9%.

Leicestershire Police, which was the only one to beat Hampshire, has a jurisdiction of 965 square miles and serves over a million people.

The force also has nine neighbourhood policing areas headed by Inspectors to ensure a 24-hour policing service and takes a proactive approach to crime.

In 2019 they regularly targeted key areas in cities such as Leicester for public order offences, using stop and search protocol to confiscate alcohol, as well as signposting addiction services to vulnerable individuals.