'Thirst Class' awards to combat bad bars, and reward good ones

Cardiff pubs and clubs that do the most to combat binge drinking in the capital will be eleigible for new 'Thirst Class' awards, designed to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence in the city centre.

Licensing Sergeant Trevor Jones, based at Cardiff Central Police Station, said: “For three years we have been monitoring problematic premises with the traffic light system. This is a well-known system, which has been identified as being best practice by the Home Office."

The system is an early-warning intelligence tool that identifies problematic premises based on data obtained from the University Hospital of Wales and police records. Alcohol-related crime and disorder incidents are analysed on a monthly basis and points are deducted for each alcohol-related incident that occurs in the premises.

Now points will also be given by the police and Cardiff council to those bars and clubs that demonstrate a responsible attitude to drink sales. At the end of 12 months, the best-run small, medium and large premises identified using the traffic light system and council data will get a Thirst Class award.

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