Police in Bournemouth have defended the campaign to see polycarbonate introduced in the town's bars, clubs & clubs. Officers from the alcohol & licensing enforcement (ALE) team say the introduction of plastic glasses in town centre venues has seen a marked drop in glassing & violent crime incidents. But this success has not won over BGMC. In a letter to the Daily Echo, director general David Workman said: "While the UK's glass manufacturers condemn violence we feel that glass bans are inappropriate & heavy-handed. "They do nothing to address the social issues surrounding binge drinking & sale of alcohol to underage drinkers." He added that violent & aggressive incidents would still take place using another instrument, & if people wanted to fight they would find a weapon or take it in with them. The Daily Echo teamed up with the ALE team last year for our Call Time on Glass campaign to encourage town centre venues to switch from glass to polycarbonate plastic to help cut the number of glassing incidents. Since then 30 venues have gone polycarbonate and between April 15 and October 15, Bournemouth police recorded a 70 per cent reduction in glassing incidents in the town. Speaking about Mr Workman's comments, Inspector Chris Weeks said: "Over the past 12 months in excess of 30 venues have converted from glass to polycarbonate in Bournemouth, and as a direct result of that violent crime continues to decline. "We certainly haven't seen incidents of people bringing weapons to pubs or clubs."
