Police patrols increased for New Year's Eve

Special Constables will be boosting Northamptonshire Police's Safer Community Team patrols tonight as the force braces itself for a busy time in Northampton town centre on New Year’s Eve.
A full Operation Nightsafe staffing of police officers will be out on the streets as revellers plan to welcome in 2011.
Police Community Support Officers and Special Constables will also play their part in the operation. Inspector Barry Sobers, of Northampton’s Incident Resolution Team, is heading up the New Year operation in the town.
He said: “The main message for those people celebrating the New Year in the town centre is have fun, know your limits and make sure you don’t spoil the celebrations for others.
“We have our normal weekend patrols out for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with extra officers brought in to the Safer Community Teams to improve visibility in outlying areas.
“Special Constables are playing a large part in our Nightsafe operation this month.
“They help boost our neighbourhood policing and also join our response officers in the town centre to help keep order among those who visiting the bars, pubs and clubs.
“The drugs dog will be out with us and as usual we will be working closely with our partners in the local authorities and health service to ensure that people have a safe and enjoyable time.
“But the onus is on individuals to know their limits, drink sensibly and behave responsibly. Provided they do that, they won’t be hearing from us or the other emergency services.”
Operation Nightsafe is the force’s zero-tolerance approach towards alcohol-related crime and disorder.
Inspector Sobers added: “Anyone out on the town should consider how they want their night to end.
“A happy New Year, being driven home safely by a friend who is a nominated driver or in a taxi cab?
Or a miserable start to the New Year, lying in a gutter completely out of it? In a police station, a victim of crime? Or in a police cell, trying to remember why you are there?”