Drinkers forced to clean own mess

By Alex Bushill BBC News, Torquay, Devon

With politicians calling for a crackdown on alcohol-fuelled disorder, police in Torquay have come up with a solution to one of the more anti-social aspects of drinking far too much.

You would expect a police van to be well equipped - handcuffs, truncheons, helmets and armour.

But what about a mop and bucket?

I found myself hurtling down Torquay's palmed-fringed seafront with a local patrol - who can only really be described as the "mop cops".

Police in the Devon resort have decided to clean up their town, quite literally.

For the last few months anyone caught peeing in the streets after one too many drinks on the town will be given a choice: either face arrest for being drunk and disorderly, or take a mop and bucket and clean up your own mess.

But as the finer details of this unusual campaign were being explained to me in the back of the police van, we pulled up abruptly.

Punishment

We had been on patrol for all of two minutes and they had already caught their first piddler, red-handed.

He was just a teenager, clearly under the influence and shocked at all the unwanted attention.

Presented with his choice, he did not take long to decide.

Moments later, his head bowed, his face hidden by his hooded top, he was hunched over his own trail of wee, mopping away.

I asked him if he accepted the punishment - and he gruffly replied "yeah".

He was clearly not enjoying this, as his friends watched and laughed. But he was soon on his way after a ticking-off from Sgt Nick Healy. The boy assured him he wouldn't do it again.

The idea was the brainchild of Supt Chris Singer, who calls this approach to policing "restorative justice".

"People need to take responsibility for their actions", he said.

People need to take responsibility for their actions Supt Chris Singer

I asked him if this wasn't just primitive policing, akin to wiping a puppy's nose in its own mess?

It's not a comparison he shared.

"No, it isn't at all. It is a simple and straightforward approach.

"There is a hygiene element to all of this. Urine is left in a doorway for somebody else to clear up - why should somebody else clear it up?

"We're saying, you've committed an offence, now please clear it up."

While we were filming, someone else relieved themselves down a hidden alleyway.

This time it is just a ticking off; the mop and bucket are left in the van.

But his excuse?

"Well, if there wasn't such a long queue in the club, I wouldn't have done it."

'Lucky'

Others differ. Speak to anyone on the street on a busy Friday night and the vast majority will tell you urinating in public is unacceptable.

It's a view echoed by local businessmen who, the morning after the night before, have to clear up after a heavy night.

One restaurateur complained of how a reveller urinated against his restaurant window, while diners would be eating.

But back on the busy streets of Torquay, the night was winding down. The police packed up their kit and the mop was put away for now.

And as we made our way back home, one officer confided in me.

Perhaps those made to use the mop should count themselves lucky - he told me that there was a time when anyone caught peeing in the streets would have been made to clear it up with their own shirts.

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