ALCOHOL related assaults in Thanet have decreased significantly in the past six months due to a multi-agency approach to tackling violence and disorder in the area's nightspots.

The reduction has come about through Nightsafe, a Kent Police-led multi-agency operation to drive down crime and reduce the harm caused by alcohol linked crime and disorder in Margate, Ransgate and Broadstairs.

The operation works by enforcing laws and regulations, educating drinkers about the dangers of binge drinking, and improving the socialising environment of Thanet’s nightspots.

Sgt Gordon Etheridge, the Kent Police officer responsible for Nightsafe, said that since the partnership operation began in June there had been a significant drop in the number of assaults happening in pubs, bars and nightclubs.

He said: “In the six months since Nightsafe began there have been 22 fewer assaults in licensed premises than during the same period last year. This is a significant achievement for the partnership and for the people enjoying Thanet’s nightlife.”

He said the key to Nightsafe’s success has been in the partnership approach of the various authorities and agencies and the willingness of the licensees to work with the partnership.

“No one agency can manage the task of driving down crime and reducing violence and disorder in Thanet on its own, but together we have the skills and resources we need to make it happen.”

Although Kent Police is the lead agency in Nightsafe, representatives from Kent Fire and Rescue, the Security Industry Authority (SIA), Trading Standards, Environmental Health, the Thanet District Council and other agencies regularly join police officers on visits to Thanet’s nightspots.

Each agency has its own area of expertise and responsibility and can give guidance to licensees as to how they can make their establishments safer.

Sgt Etheridge said people on a night out should also expect to have their ages checked more frequently and to be refused service if they are intoxicated.

He added: “The goal of this operation is to make socialising safer, more responsible and to reduce violent crime and disorder. Part of that is encouraging pubs and clubs to be more discerning in their cliental, and to not let in underage drinkers and not to serve people if they’re drunk.”