Finnegan's Wake raided for under-age drinking

Door entry policies not working

Ealing borough residents, Council and Police are no longer prepared to tolerate our town centres becoming no-go areas on Friday and Saturday nights.

On Friday 10th November police raided Finnegan's Wake public house, The Green, Ealing, W5 following a number of complaints that the pub was allegedly serving alcohol to people underage.

Intelligence reports also contained evidence that there is a significant problem with groups of youths gathering in and around this area who are involved in anti-social behaviour, such as drugs, selling stolen goods, fighting, underage drinking, and graffiti. Recently these incidents of anti social behaviour have increased where large groups of youths were obstructing the pavements, being abusive to members of the public outside the premises during opening hours and after the premises closes.

Determined to tackle the problem head-on with tough enforcement action, thirty police officers entered the pub, finding 11 people under the legal age of eighteen.

They were all aged between 16 and 17 years of age and had either no ID, forged ID or used bankcards, which are not proof of age. This clearly indicates the door entry policy is failing at the establishment. The agreed partnership policy instructs door staff to ask for photo id to ensure compliance, which was obviously not being adhered to. No arrests were made during the operation.

The professionalism of door supervisors is crucial for establishments like these to operate successfully. The evidence found during this visit clearly shows the door entry policies of this establishment are not working. Police will work with the management of all licensed premises in the Borough to raise standards. These efforts will help to improve the behaviour of revelers, deter troublemakers and reduce the level of alcohol related crime and disorder.

The landlord of Finnegan's Wake will be reported to the courts for allowing the sale of alcohol to people under 18 and will be summonsed in due course.

Insp Philip Sanders, Licensing Department Ealing Borough Police

�A major reason for running this operation is that we recognise that there has been a large increase in the number of people reporting incidents of youths causing annoyance, many of which involved alcohol. Underage drinking is a common cause of anti-social behaviour and potentially damaging to teenagers. This operation outlines our ongoing commitment to enforce the licensing laws and reduce the incidents of antisocial behaviour in Ealing Borough which we know will prove to be beneficial for teenagers and for area�.

Police Sergeant Paul Lamb, Ealing Broadway Ward Safer Neighbourhoods Team says 

�Tackling antisocial behaviour and quality of life issues are one of the main priorities of safer neighbourhoods policing. This operation demonstrates that we are not only going to listen to the issues that most concern the residents and businesses of Ealing Broadway ward but act upon the information we receive and work in partnership with other agencies to help resolve them. �

We will continue to use a wide range of methods and work with partner agencies to tackle the problems of crime and antisocial behaviour in an innovative and holistic manner.

We would encourage all residents on Ealing Borough to continue to share information about crime and anti-social behaviour issues with the police and council as this will assist the partnership in reducing Antisocial Behaviour and benefit the implementation of future initiatives/operations across the borough

If a member of the public wishes to report antisocial behaviour to the police in the Ealing Broadway Ward they can do so by contacting the Ealing Broadway Safer Neighbourhoods on 020-8246-9482a.

If you reside on a ward that has not already received a Safer Neighbourhoods Team and wish to report antisocial behaviour you can do so by contacting the Ealing Borough Police Non Emergency Telephone Number 0208-246-1212

In an Emergency always dial 999.

December 17, 2004