Police say the fines are effective in tackling binge-drinking

Over the bank holiday weekend officers will issue fines of up to �80 to people found drunk and disorderly or for minor acts of criminal damage.

It is the first time South Wales Police has used the powers in a co-ordinated campaign to tackle drunken violence.

The fines have been criticised by some as a short-term measure that fails to address the cause of the problem.

Chief Inspector Ray Bignell said from Friday night police would take a tougher line as part of Operation Night Walk.

Police have a very difficult job to do but fixed penalties are not really a long-term solution Crime and Society Foundation

"There is little doubt that alcohol is a key factor in much of the public disorder experienced in the city centre and is also a contributing factor in a number of assaults," he said.

"Fixed penalty notices are an efficient way to deal with such behaviour."

Police will use them for offences such as disorderly behaviour, selling alcohol to under-age drinkers and damaging property.

Police forces were given the powers to use spot-fines in 2004 and during the first year of the scheme nearly 64,000 were issued in England and Wales. Almost 27,000 were for drunk and disorderly behaviour.

South Wales Police said it had waited to see how effective they had been in other forces before using them.

But the Crime and Society Foundation, a think-tank based King's College in London, has questioned their effectiveness.

It said Home Office figures indicated a sharp decline in the number of people who paid them and said the fines ran the risk of creating a two-tier justice system.

The foundation said people on higher incomes could more easily afford to pay them while those who could not may end up in court.

Spokeswoman Rebecca Roberts said: "If you are trying to address alcohol- related violence you need to look at the causes, such as licensing and sufficient public transport which are more to do with council planning.