CHESHIRE: Cop: Put boozer yobs into care

Cop: Put boozer yobs into care

Threat ... top cop Fahy


PARENTS who refuse to tackle their children’s underage boozing should face having them put into care, a top cop said last night.

Police chief Peter Fahy hit out a week after dad-of-three Garry Newlove was killed after confronting a gang of teenage yobs outside his home in Cheshire.

Mr Fahy said parents should pay the penalty if they spurn police and social services’ help to sort out their boozy kids. He said one option would be to launch care proceedings in cases where parents refused help or did not co-operate.

He added: “It’s got to be that if they don’t take us up on our offer of help something is going to happen. There should be some form of sanction from the criminal justice system.

“This should be a child protection issue and this should be dealt with as part of care proceedings.”

Mr Fahy, Cheshire’s chief constable, said when his officers take drunken youngsters home parents are often shocked — but sometimes they don’t care or are drunk themselves.

He continued: “When you’ve got a parent who just doesn’t care, what do you do?”

But children’s campaigner Esther Rantzen blasted his proposal.

She said: “The answer is not putting the young people in care because, alas, when that happens sadly the outcome is all too often tragic.

“They may end up as criminals or homeless or destitute. It’s not a good outlook.”

In a spate of recent attacks, Mr Newlove, 47, died after he was set upon after he told off youngsters outside his Warrington home. Four teenagers have been charged with murder.

Evren Anil, 23, of Upper Norwood, South London, died from his injuries after he confronted a group for throwing a chocolate bar into his sister’s car.