Drunken revellers caught misbehaving over the festive season could be given on-the-spot fines during a crackdown in 180 town and city centres.
The government has warned that police in England and Wales will hand out �80 fines to people caught fighting, urinating or being sick in the street.
The nationwide campaign was launched by the Home Office on Friday 17 December - the busiest night of the year for Christmas parties. It will run until 3 January.
Similar action in the summer saw more than 5,600 arrests but the Christmas crackdown will target more than double the number of city centres.
Will on-the-spot fines curb binge drinking during the festive holidays?
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
The following comments reflect the balance of comments received so far:
 | SUGGEST A DEBATE This topic was suggested by Dean, UK:  Are �80 on the spot fines the answer to the UK's binge drinking problem?  |
I went to my village local last night. I had four pints of bitter. I enjoyed pleasant conversation with my friends and then walked home. According to most measures, I count as a "binge drinker"! No-one is going to take this problem seriously until we recognise that having a few drinks and a laugh with your mates is NOT the same thing as getting totally off your face and vomiting on the pavement!
John, England
As an ex-student in the North East (also being from the North East) who has lived in Germany for just over a year I can say that the UK licensing laws are out of date and part of the problem. Over here there is no rush to get drunk, no rush to drink before the night is over. People still go out for the same amount of time, they just go out at different times. They may drink the same amount as they do in the UK but over a longer period. Until the laws are changed the current problems will remain.
David, Germany, ex UK
I'd have a 5-minute segment on the Monday evening news showing video footage with names of the weekend's worst drunks. My family and I spent a long, sleepless night listening to the fights and car crashes in Henley on Thames during the summer so it happens everywhere. If that's part of our culture then I only ask what's next.
Tim M, USA
In Australia pubs and bar staff face fairly stiff fines for serving drinks to someone who is already drunk. Bar staff there tend to take a more responsible attitude to serving drinks as a result. I think something similar has to happen here because the cost to society of everyone getting so drunk all the time (I am thinking of crime and health problems principally) is enormous. Regulating the approach of pubs is the surest way to curb this problem.
Ben, London
Now part of the 'older' generation, I remember when it was more than a licensee's license was worth to allow patrons to go beyond "I think we've had enough" point. The pub/club owners make the profits (aside from the Government of course) so should be more accountable for patrons' actions as a result of visiting such establishments.
Alan Thompson, Belfast
Well I'm sure everyone will be happy when they have to show their shiny new ID cards to get a drink and the government then decides to limit them to their 21 units a week....
Marc Whiteley, London, England
A few weeks ago we were invited to a 21st birthday party in an Oswestry town centre pub. Up to around 9:00pm everything seemed fine, but soon after, what a nightmare. The whole town centre turned into an imitation of a wild west frontier town. Worst of all, there was nobody around to moderate the behaviour, not the police, not the pub/bar owners, no one. By 10:00pm our 21st party was blown out of the water - I was never so glad to get out of a place, we were all gone and left the place to it.
Pete, Birmingham, UK
As a doorman I fully endorse this measure if it actually puts a stop to this practice. The amount of drunken people I have had to remove from bars where I work has steadily increased as time goes by, not just because of the holiday season.
Omide Deinali, Newcastle, UK
| Surely the pubs and clubs must take some of the responsibility themselves |
Living in Newquay this is a problem which plagues us every night of the summer and every weekend in the winter. Surely the pubs and clubs must take some of the responsibility themselves. If someone has had too much already then they should refuse to serve them. There should also be stiff penalties for any establishment breaking this rule. If a pub or club was risking its license by serving drunks with more alcohol, I'm sure that the problem would soon disappear.
Bob, Newquay How can someone help being sick in the street? What if someone is totally drunk, gets a takeaway, totally well behaved, and finds it all too much to hold in? How can this person be said to have committed an offence? It's insanity
Dan, Glasgow
The licensing laws in this country are completely out of date. If you want to go out for an evening, which many of us do, you usually have to rush getting ready, etc in order to have a few hours out before the bars close. Late night clubs which are open until 2 or 3am aren't for everyone. I would like to sit in a normal pub until this time but would rather go out at 10:30 - 11:00 in the evening. This is what I do when I am abroad where normal bars are open much later.
Neil McAliece, Coventry
We need to be tougher on these drunken louts (male and female) Maybe something more than just a slap on the wrist and a "Don't do it again" would be more of a deterrent. Lock then up for two consecutive weekends - that would have them off the street and maybe teach them some respect.
Matt Evans, Ashford, Middx
A step in the right direction. Many a night have I walked in the city centre whilst fearing for my life. There has definitely got to be a start to curb down on anti-social behaviour related to binge drinking and fines should be exercised not only during Christmas but for the rest of the year as well.
Solomon, Bournemouth, UK
| The government regards drunken behaviour as a semi-crime |
Do we need special fines for "drunken revellers"? Either a person is committing an offence (for which there is an existing law and penalty) or not. I think this is the root of Britain's problem with drinking; the government regards drunken behaviour as a semi-crime and tries to use pub licensing and opening hours to control it. What should really happen is that we have 24 hour drinking if that's what grown up people want, but crack down on criminal behaviour when it occurs.
Grant, Cambridge, UK In Moscow there is a law against public drunkenness, and offenders may be held for three hours by police followed by a fine on the evening. This is rigorously enforced meaning that the anti-social behaviour which accompanies drinking in Britain is almost absent from the city centre, despite a level of alcohol consumption much higher than our own.
Mike, Moscow
I don't know how anyone can call drunken fighting, vomiting and urinating 'a bit of fun'. However, I have no idea how, and if, this will be implemented. Instead, help should be provided for those who have to drink themselves into oblivion to have a good time. I feel very sorry for them.
Caroline, Reading, UK
Something ought to be done about the people who sell vast quantities of discounted drinks to people who are already drunk but, of course, that won't happen. We don't want to go around upsetting the big pub owning chains and cutting into their profits, do we? Agreed that public drunkenness and violence are a problem but the pub chains must take some degree of responsibility too.
Carole, Bristol, UK
If �80 doesn't do the trick, raise the fine until people feel the pinch. It will work. I has to work. The current epidemic of binge drinking must be stopped.
Zoe, London, UK
I hope they spend the money raised through fining people caught relieving themselves in public places on re-instating public loos. These have practically disappeared from London suburbs - after a few pints in central London, and spending a hour or more getting home on the tube, you're bursting by the time you come out of the home station. What are we supposed to do now?
Andy Thomas, London, UK
As an ex policeman, I fail to see how it is possible to issue a fixed penalty notice to a drunken person, in that if they do not pay then they are liable to prosecution and they could successfully argue that they did not understand the caution given while the ticket was being issued. Drink drivers cannot be charged while still under the influence of alcohol for this reason. Any doubt about the identity of a drunk must result in arrest anyway, another useless gimmick from the government that actually makes the street copper's job harder!
David Tozer, Portsmouth Hants I don't think that on the spot fines will help to curb anything. However, I disagree that extended licensing hours encourage binge drinking. People that overindulge will do it regardless of how long pubs and clubs are open for, and antisocial drinkers will always be antisocial, regardless of whether there is a fine involved or not. The answer, as so many before have pointed out, is education and common sense.
Laura Kelley, Colchester, Essex
Having witnessed the 'fall out' from a top accountancy firm's Christmas Party in Piccadilly early this morning, this is not confined to teenagers and so called 'lager louts'. Maybe the suits would behave better if the Police provided their names and even video footage to their employers. Sobering thought, perhaps.
Steve Morton, Cirencester, UK
Do you think the fine will have any bearing on the mid twenties woman being sick on the train home one evening this week during rush hour after a "great office lunch". I think not. Of course, maybe the train cleaner has a different perspective?
Stuart, London, UK
Why is law enforcement being turned into a money making enterprise? I expect the police will pocket the proceeds of these "fines" (as with speeding fines etc.) Instead get the police out doing the job they are paid to do, i.e. policing the streets, and throw any trouble makers in jail until they sober up. Then put them up in court for sentencing to community service, ideally clearing vomit off the pavements or repairing damage done by drunken louts.
Alan, Farnborough, Hampshire
Apparently binge drinking means more than five drinks in a row, more than three times in a month! Rubbish! It's not about alcohol, that's just a medium used by the unhappy. Those of us who don't behave violently or go over the top when we have a few drinks, shouldn't be made to feel like we've doing something wrong. As usual we're looking for easy solutions rather than tackling fundamentals.
Chris, Aberystwyth, Wales
How do you fine somebody who is completely drunk? Take 80 quid from them and leave a note so when they wake up in the morning they know where their money went?
Matt, Warsaw
By the current definition, I will be a binge drinker at a works Christmas party tonight (as will probably consume more the five units). However I work hard, pay my way and am entitled to pay my money on heavily taxed alcohol. After the day I've already had I'm looking forward to a few drinks tonight. Like everything in life if your actions affect others you must be prepared to face the consequences. I have no sympathy for those who can't handle their drink. Happy Christmas!
Tracey, Bristol, UK
No. And I'll drink to that. Maybe if they stopped running the country into the ground and tried to reduce working hours, and provide some investment for the rest of the country other than Manchester and London, we wouldn't all fancy a drink quite so often. Longer licensing hours would curb the 'get as much down your neck before 11:20' problem too.
Jack Daniels, Wolverhampton
The message has to get home that binge drinking and drunken behaviour in the streets is shameful and not acceptable in any self-respecting society. Whether spot fines will be enough is another matter but the term drunken revellers should be replaced by a more accurate one that reflects the level of disgust felt by the majority of people who witness this behaviour.
Colin, Lincoln, UK
I don't think enforcing fines will work. People will still continue to drink. I agree something needs to be done though. It is worrying seeing the increasing number of young women binge drinking. It's not just the risks of liver problems they face. Time and time again, I hear of women who have been sexually assaulted or raped because men seem to think if they are in that sort of mess that they can get away with it.
Steve, Wales
Considering the cost of drinks in bars and clubs, I'm surprised that people can afford to get so inebriated! At �5.00 for a single vodka I expect to see more people sober up before the night's end.
Weezie, Birmingham
| The licensed trade must take more responsibility |
People don't suddenly get drunk when they hit the streets. The licensed trade must take more responsibility and refuse to sell alcohol to those who have clearly had enough and/or who are showing signs of anti-social behaviour.
Lawrie Taylor, London Waterloo station first thing in the morning smells disgusting and anything that puts a stop to this gets my support. However, like previous posters I think it's going to be a pretty hard law to enforce.
Sarah, Epsom, Surrey
Last Christmas I worked in a bar where absinthe was �4.50 per shot. I was selling rounds of ten or twenty. Drinking is part of our culture, and this will achieve nothing but pen pushing.
Anonymous
Didn't there use to be a quaint old law about fining publicans that encouraged drunkenness or under-age drinking? I'd have thought the town centres would be much quieter if irresponsible pubs got closed down instead of fining the idiots that use them.
Lorraine, St Albans, UK
Another stupid idea! When will the government realise that the only way to crack down on binge drinking is to shorten licensing hours? Increasing the length of time people can drink has made the problem worse as many people now just carry on drinking until they throw up/start a fight/fall to the floor unconscious.
Steve, Nottingham, UK
As I cannot afford a house anywhere near Oxford city centre I always have to remain sober enough to catch a bus to my neighbouring home town and walk the 10 minutes from the bus stop to my house. Maybe the government is more cunning than we give them credit for?
Miss B, Oxfordshire
Firstly ID Cards, if introduced could readily identify offenders. The �80 fine is too low as binge drinkers will spend that and more on a night out. Police discretion is important, and I feel fines should relate to any damage and inconvenience caused, with those drunks taken to hospital being charged the appropriate rate for what is after all private hospitalisation and treatment.
Pete Lawrence, Southampton
Well, I think maybe we should be looking at why there is much binge drinking going on. Maybe it's because modern life is rubbish, soul destroying, not very enjoyable. People then have to get their "highs" from something to make the mundane seem worthwhile.
Mark Lee, Huddersfield
Handing out a piece of paper dreamt up by the finest legal minds in the government to somebody who won't even remember what they did the next day. Brilliant. Oh, and I'm sure spot fines will also stop somebody being glassed, or worse. This isn't law enforcement - it's a profit making scheme.
Carl J, Oxford, England
Tonight and tomorrow, like every other weekend, I will go out and quite happily get drunk with my friends, as I do every weekend. I have never had a fight, I am very rarely sick in the street, I behave myself at all times. But who knows? One day I might end up being ill, one day someone might hit me for no reason other than a spilt drink. I don't envisage this happening, so will the threat of a fine if it does, stop me from going out? Of course it won't!
Andy, Cannock, Staffs
I understand the current government's wish to control the ever escalating problem of drunken and disorderly behaviour that is no longer the lair of metropolitan hot spots. It's a disease eating away at the fabric of society, but as normal this government feels a heavy hand is the best way to control a situation. As with many of society's issues I am a great believer in the power of education.
Andre Lavin, Liverpool, UK
Sad though it is, I agree with these measures. In Manchester centre, pub and clubs customers who have had too much to drink cause problems that affect everyone. From being sick over the footpaths, to intimidating passers by, they are oblivious to the offence they cause. Also, the ambulance crews and A&E units of the hospitals and police all have to cope and have precious resources stretched due to this behaviour. I was one of those who thought that extended licensing hours would put an end to binge drinking, but it appears to have worsened. I enjoy a drink myself but would cringe with shame if I thought that my behaviour had ever caused offence to others
Carol, Manchester
Great. Tax us to death, ban things they don't like (such as fox hunting) , take the country to war and then ban a bit of fun at Christmas time. Who voted for this lot?
Tom, Ipswich, UK
No don't fine them, make them clear up the mess. A 3 day community work programme should concentrate their minds.
Cliff, Colchester, UK
| I would welcome some sort of restraint shown by drinkers |
Having commuted to work today on a packed train stinking of vomit, no doubt from a late train the night before, I would welcome some sort of restraint shown by drinkers, even though I am a keen drinker myself. However, trying to issue tickets to someone depositing 11 pints of lager and a curry over their shoes may be a little more difficult in practice and it is a culture change and not legislation that will bring about a change in this peculiar habit the British seem to excel at.
Richard Gribbin, London Doubtful. Fining people for fighting isn't a bad thing, but the other issues are often just symptoms. If you need to visit the loo it's often extremely hard to find one, so there's often little option but to find a quiet side-road. Being sick isn't always caused by being drunk - it can also be down to illness or food poisoning. To fine someone for eating some dodgy prawns just adds insult to injury, again with little option for them to do anything about their predicament. It's also hard to see people actually paying the fines - how many false addresses will be disclosed and how many innocent people will be chased for fines they don't owe?
John B, UK
With John B's attitude I doubt we'll ever solve the problem. Until people take accountability for their own actions (and stop finding others to blame) we'll never sort it.
Andy Lindsay, UK
Christmas is a time for partying with friends and work colleagues and there will always be those people who will go too far and be out of control. It is a matter of education on what is and is not socially acceptable and this is lacking in our society.
James Bell, London
I pity the poor policeman who has to try and get an �80 fine out of a drunken, vomiting 18 year old.
Peter, Nottingham
Sadly, we're in the midst of a "Chav" culture epidemic and no amount of fines are likely to stop it. More drastic action is required, but then I've never conformed to contemporary political thinking.
Paul, Dartford
Well, the 18 year old girl who is vomiting should not be in that disgraceful situation in the first place - Christmas is the time to be with families, not turn into animals!
Raja Khan, UK
The government says it wants to stop people urinating in public. So why doesn't it keep open the many public conveniences across the south east that are closing permanently?
Richard, Redhill, UK
| It would be more beneficial to the community if the culprits were... made to spend the next day scrubbing down the walls, pavements, etc |
It would be more beneficial to the community if the culprits were simply put into a 'drunk tank' for the rest of the night and then made to spend the next day scrubbing down the walls, pavements, etc. that have been urinated and vomited on. Might also be a deterrent (?).
Gareth, Bermuda Binge drinking exists because due to our weather and culture in the UK, young people have nothing fun to do except drink. You don't see these problems where there is sun
Jim, Shoreditch, London
And the drunk yobs who terrorise our village? We haven't seen a policeman in weeks.
Sam, UK
Typical government measure - great publicity and sound bite potential, but totally unworkable. Get the offenders to clean up after themselves. A week spent in bright orange overalls with "BINGE DRINKER" printed on it, clearing up litter and vomit would be a more salutary measure and focus the mind.
Erwin Tadiar, Luton, Bedfordshire
| I can't see a bit a sick or wee wee being too much of a problem |
I think young people being sick in the street are simply learning some lessons in life which will in turn help them grow as human beings, and in a country that receives so much rainfall as the UK, I can't see a bit a sick or wee wee being too much of a problem. Better to be sick outside than on a carpet... I'm an ex-pat living in Germany and I often regale my German workmates with exotic tales of drunken excess from 'the island'- in the same way that my father told me stories me about his younger drinking days. I don't think this is anything particularly new, in fact I think it's part of the heritage of our fine country and should be celebrated and promoted overseas.
Far better than the frigid, bowler wearing stiffs that many foreigners seem to expect from us. After all, the Irish and Scottish are stereotypically heavy drinkers and they are loved and admired the world over. C'mon England, throw your petty, reactionary newspapers onto the fire and have a good, hard drink!
John, Erfurt, Germany
These rules are just silly. It's cheaper to throw up in a taxi - they only charge you �50!
Richard, Leeds
| Pathetic solutions from a pathetic government |
Pathetic solutions from a pathetic government. Is there anything left that we're not taxed on? Fresh air will be on the list next.
Adam, West Sussex, UK These fines will not curb binge drinking because it is not addressing the reasons why people binge drink in the first place. A change of attitude towards drinking is needed, not fines for people who are so drunk they don't care whether they urinate in a shop doorway! The fines are an attempt at a quick fix remedy when the real issue is our attitude to booze.
Suzie, Norwich
Until we start treating our young people like adults, they will continue to flout the "rules". These "binge drinkers" are often young people, working hard at school or college or university, as well as holding down part-time jobs. We have to change attitudes towards drinking. I blame the alcopops. They're too easy to drink in great quantities and the excess sugar also does strange things to the brain. We must remember, however, that not all young people are bad and not all binge drinkers are young.
Katie Gumbrell, Reading, UK
As a Canadian and long term resident, there are many things I love about this country. Sadly, rivers of puke in the street on any Saturday night is not one of them. I applaud any effort to get rid of the excess drinking culture.
Martin, Wimbledon, UK
I agree with on-the-spot fines for assault or threatening behaviour but it seems strange that you can be fined for releasing your body of toxins because there's no-where open to relieve yourself or be unwell. Regardless of whether you're drunk or not (let's face it - the "designated drivers" over Xmas won't be!) there's still many places where, if you're trying to find a taxi at 0300, you can't do anything but let nature take its course in the outside. How about using the fines to plough back into opening staffed public toilets or 'Portaloos' in city streets instead of lining the pockets of local government and police departments?
Barry Mayes, Leicester, UK Another Blair gimmick. Why not get out there, talk to the police and see what will work in the real world.
James, UK
Don't think when people are so drunk they don't know what they're doing that they're going to think "whoa - I might get a fine here"
Liam Dyson, Barnsley
Tom, Ipswich: Throwing up, urinating or fighting in the street is "a bit of fun at Christmas time"? I'm glad I don't live in Ipswich!
Rob, UK
| I hope that rules covering new crimes such as vomiting are going to be limited to drunks only |
I hope that rules covering new crimes such as vomiting are going to be limited to drunks only. I've been caught out after chemotherapy before, and would hate to be arrested for that.
Richard, Leeds Does anybody else see that the possibility of the police receiving false names and addresses may support the calls for ID cards to be compulsory in order that the police can demand to see it to collate the correct information of the 'offender'. No doubt failing to produce said ID card will result in a fine/prison term.
Louise, Basildon, Essex
Aren't hangovers punishment enough?
Sarah Darvell, north London
That will be �80 less for them to go out and spend on drink which means that most probably they will not be able to go out and repeat their behaviour the following night. Seeing as most places require ID over the Christmas period, almost everybody will have some form on them.
James Purcell, London UK
| I reckon we should all stay home, drink milk and do an impression of a Christmas tree |
I reckon we should all stay home, drink milk and do an impression of a Christmas tree for the whole of the festive season
Vince, London, UK Eighty pounds isn't that much of a fine. I can spend that easily on a night out anyway. It'd need to be more to be worthwhile.
Tony, UK
Us here on Bromley have the worst police response times, that is when they turn up at all. Are we suddenly going to be flooded with police in case a few go over the top with their drinking?
Ron H, Chislehurst
Binge drinking is not a fad, its a part of British culture (see Brits abroad for comparisons). I don't think an �80 fine will change that. Plus, do people choose to be sick on the pavement? Maybe they should close down all fast food outlets as this seems to be a greater cause of sickness in this country.
Paul, Exeter, UK
How can there be "on the spot fines" when they won't have any money left - or they are dragged unconscious to a cash-point?
Gerry Noble, Salisbury, UK
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