Crack down on teen drinking sprees

December 1997

TEENAGE tipplers are being targeted in a Garda clampdown on teenage drinking in Wicklow town. Officers caught and cautioned 36 youngsters aged 15 to 17 at outdoor drinking spots along the seafront and the Murrough areas over the last three weekends. They say they will keep the pressure on until they have made all the traditional blackspots no-go areas for the young boozers. They also plan to put the squeeze on people who help teenagers beat the law by duping publicans and buying drink on behalf of people under-age.

Gardaí will use information collected from youngsters who were all quizzed on the source of the alcohol they were caught drinking. The youngsters will not get off lightly either. During the last three weekend purges, officers simply recorded names and addresses and issued cautions but they warn that bring caught a second time would result in prosecution.