Have Your Say: What would you do about binge drinking?

In an outspoken attack, Dyfed-Powys chief constable Terry Grange accused ministers of "the usual Tuesday or Friday afternoon crackdown".

He said the government had to plan a long term response to alcohol abuse.

He also blamed "hypocritical" licensees and parents "who don't care" while themselves going out drinking.

The reality is that this situation has been created by parents that don't care and show their kids how to drink too much Chief constable Terry Grange

UK ministers will later this week to launch a drive against anti-social behaviour, including encouraging bans on drunken troublemakers from bars and even city centres.

Barbara Wilding, who became head of South Wales Police in January, has said she was horrified at the aggressive atmosphere of Swansea after a late night tour, amid growing concern about the concentration of bars in many towns and cities.

Mr Grange told BBC Radio Wales that police had to deal with the problems created by heavy drinking.

"We're going to put a patch on it by arresting people, giving them a fixed penalty notice for �40 or �80 dependent on what they've been doing, and make it an expensive hobby," he said.

Some people consider town and city centres late night no-go areas

"But it won't stop it long term. It'll stop it for the short term because it'll get expensive for a few people," he told the Good Morning Wales programme.

"But if you want a long term fix... for people drinking like this you have to ask yourself what kind of society we've got, and that's what government are supposed to do.

"But what they are doing is opening pubs for 24 hours."

He criticised the "sheer hypocrisy" of licensees who made money out of selling drink and then complained that police were not around to deal with their customers.

"The reality is that this situation has been created by parents that don't care and show their kids how to drink too much.

Detoxification centres

"And it's not just kids that you'll find down Wind Street (in Swansea), or Station Road, Llanelli, or Tenby or Aberystwyth, or any of my towns on a Friday and Saturday night binge drinking.

The vast majority of people actually go out, enjoy a drink, socialising with their friends, and then go home without any problems whatsoever Mark Hastings, British Beer and Pub Association

"You'll find a group of people between 35 and 45 doing the same thing and there's somebody looking after the kiddies at home."

Mr Grange accused many people of abdicating personal responsibility.

"You've got the society that says individually we are not to blame. Whatever happens to me, society is to blame so I have no accountability for what I'm doing.

"Everyone says what are the government going to do about it, what are the police going to do about it?

"What are the parents going to do about it? How about the individuals themselves using their brains?"

He urged the UK Government to spend "a great deal more money" on detoxification centres for drunks.

"But if you're going to do something about it, you need to think it through very carefully, plan it properly and then get on with it, and not have the usual Tuesday or Friday afternoon crackdown on something, which is what this seems to be again.

Home Secretary David Blunkett wants to tackle 'irresponsible' bars

"I think we're living on knee jerk reactions to everything these days."

He praised the Welsh Assembly Government, which has announced long-term plans to tackle drug problems.

"I wish others would take a hint from it," he said.

"If you are going to do it about drink, do the same thing. Ask yourself a whole range of questions about who's doing it, how they are doing it, the circumstances that they are getting the drink in, why they are doing it, and then apply your minds with them - if they want to- to how you can control the situation.

"Once you've got control you can then move on to reducing it."

Mark Hastings, of the British Beer and Pub Association, said some people did drink too much and caused problems, but said calling it a culture of binge-drinking was misleading.

"The vast majority of people actually go out, enjoy a drink, socialising with their friends and then go home without any problems whatsoever," he said.

He criticised a failure to enforce laws on drunkenness and violence, with culprits arrested but often not charged. Mr Hastings said: "I'm certainly not saying the industry doesn't have responsibilities. We have very clear legal duties as well.

"One of those is not serving people who are clearly drunk and we are working with the police and the government in this summer enforcement campaign to ensure that any pub or bar that is doing that gets the weight of the law against them as well."