Unight Aberdeen News

Is It Worth It?

Sat 07 Jul 2012 - submited by Chris Fowler

30th May 2012

Today @ The Belmont Cinema a joint campaign by Unight Aberdeen, Grampian Police, Safer Aberdeen and the local schools board has been launched. This campaign is called Is It Worth It?

This is the result of a collation of work done by and on behalf of Unight with help from the aforementioned agencies and Aberdeen College.

The campaign focusses on Identity Fraud in respect to Under-Age young people attempting to gain access to Licensed Venues or buy from Licensed retailers using false or forged identification.

The creation of this new DVD resource tool is the end product and it is this, along with a teaching pack, that will be used in the classrooms of S4-S6 Social Studies classes in the next school academic year.

The synopsis follows a young person who uses his older brothers' passport to attempt to gain entry to a Nightclub. He is stopped and the DVD shows the consequences of this act. Eventually leading to his arrest and the confiscation of the passport. This in turn prevents his brother from going on a pre-planned holiday.

All parties involved, with continued support of the Passport & Immigration Office, fully support the actions laid out in the DVD and feel it is extremely important to get this messgae across to teenagers today.

Edited
Unight Aberdeen

MOBILE PHONE THEFTS

Fri 13 Apr 2012 - submited by Gillian Esson

Safety advice - Watch your phone when out and about

DON'T leave your phone on tables in pubs or restaurants and try not to use it in a crowded place

MAKE SURE if you keep your phone in a bag that you keep it close to you and never leave it unattended , even for a short period

BE AWARE when using your phone in areas where thieves often operate - like nightclubs and pubs, or bus stops. If you use a phone at these locations make sure that you are satisfied that it is safe to do so. If you are unsure, it may be best to avoid using the phone until you are in a safer location

TAKE CARE if you're using your phone when walking and make sure you are paying attention to what's going on around you

REGISTER your phone with your network operator. This means they can block calls if your phone is stolen so the thief can't use it. You can also register your mobile on a free property database such as 'Immobilise' (www.immobilise.com). Immobilise will help the Police, your insurer and the second-hand trade to assist in recovering your phone

RECORD your 15 - digit registration number (also known as the IMEI or International Mobile Equipment Identity Number) and phone number. Keep these numbers separate and safe. You can find your IMEI number by keying *#06# into most phones or by looking underneath the phone battery

IF YOUR PHONE IS STOLEN report it to your network operator and to the Police. Your phone can be blocked, just like a stolen credit card. Once blocked, it cannot be used again

IF YOU HAVE AN ANDROID OR SMARTPHONE consider downloading an app to your phone, which will improve its security by providing a means to locate the phone if it is stolen. An example of such an app is lookout.com

Operation Oak

Sun 27 Nov 2011 - submited by Shelly Wall

A message from Grampian Police - Operation Oak

In 2006 Operation Oak was introduced by Grampian Police and the Aberdeen Community Safety Partnership to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in the City Centre. Violent crime is now at a six year low making Aberdeen City Centre one of the safest in the country.

We want to pass on some tips and friendly advice so that you greatly reduce the chance of being a victim of crime, or worse, arrested or injured.

In our experience, a fair chunk of the reported crime at this time of year could be avoided. It is a great shame to see that a moments stupidity gets someone a criminal record and greatly reduces their career options to get or keep a job when they return home.

Seeing grown men and women in tears when they realise what they have done, and the consequences of their actions, is not a happy sight. So please think before you do something daft and watch your intake of alcohol; when you are drunk is when you are most vulnerable.

You are probably getting the gist now that, while we will police the City Centre in a friendly, neighbourly and safety-minded manner, we will not let the minority spoil it for others. We will arrest and will take a hard line with those who try.

City Centre Local Policing Team
servicecentre@grampian.pnn.police.uk
T/0845 600 5 700

Challenge 25 - Mandatory Condition

Wed 14 Sep 2011 - submited by Gillian Esson

CHALLENGE 25 - New Mandatory Condition on Liquor Licences

On 1 October 2011, a new mandatory condition on liquor licences will commence, requiring an age verification policy to be in place. This involves all on sales and off sales premises to verify, on production of ID, that those who appear to be under the age of 25 years who are trying to purchase alcohol, are in fact over the age of 18 years and thus allowed to lawfully make the purchase.

The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 allows for 3 forms of identification to be accepted by licence holders and their staff (however discretion still remains with the premises as to which of the 3 they will accept):

Passport;
European photocard driving licence; and
PASS accredited proof of age card.

Please bear in mind that if ID belonging to someone else (regardless of age) is used or a person's own ID has been tampered with, this is an issue that may be referred to and dealt with by the Police.

"So, if you are lucky enough to look under 25 you will be asked to prove that you are aged 18 or over when you buy alcohol. If you are under 18 you are committing an offence if you attempt to buy alcohol."

www.challenge25.org

Flash Message Press Release

Tue 02 Aug 2011 - submited by Gillian Esson

22/07/2011

UNIGHT Aberdeen in conjunction with Grampian Police is to contact around 50,000 people through Facebook in an effort to reduce violent offending in Aberdeen city centre.

The messages have been put out by the UNIGHT Aberdeen group, a coming together of of 21 socially responsible licensed venues, to publicise the fact that violent offenders now face a court-ordered ban from city centre clubs for any violent behaviour .

Messages will be posted to Facebook users warning them of the new initiative, which has already resulted in people being legally excluded from the city's nightspots.

The message reads:

"How would you feel to be UNABLE to enter your favourite Aberdeen pubs & clubs?

"A new exclusion order initiative launched by UNIGHT Aberdeen and Grampian Police means that if you commit an offence related to alcohol-related violence in Aberdeen city centre you may be legally banned from all 21 UNIGHT venues."

The warning continues: "If excluded, attempted re-entry results in your arrest. Banned from one, banned from all. Please think - is it worth it?"

Inspector John Soutar of Grampian Police's Licensing Team commented 'social networking sites are the fastest and most user friendly forms of media and with each club having it's own site with a number of 'friends' attached to the sites, some with as many as 12,000 'friends', it's a logical way of getting a positive message across which will hopefully let all clubbers know that there is a real deterrent to anti social and violent behaviour. All clubs want a trouble free night, the Police want a trouble free night, and I'm sure all clubbers do too. We just want people to know there will be social consequences as well as court consequences for those who choose to ignore the positive message we are trying to get across. Hopefully this will assist in continuing to make Aberdeen an even safer place to have a good night out in'

Shelly Wall of The Office and the Chairperson of the Unight Group said ' All of our venues try to do the right things to keep people safe, unfortunately there are a small minority who spoil it sometimes, we hope this message encourages everyone to keep cool and enjoy Aberdeen. For those that misbehave, you won't be welcome in our clubs and will end up legally banned thanks to the assistance we receive from the Procurator Fiscal Service and the Courts'

Chris Fowler, Manager at The Albyn, said: "The Facebook Flash message has the potential to reach a vast amount of people frequenting the late night economy. It's important to both inform them and warn them of the measures being taken by the Police and Unight Aberdeen working together who want to deter the errant few individuals, intent on creating trouble under the influence of Alcohol."

A spokesman from the Aberdeen City Alcohol & Drugs Partnership endorsed the message going out today from the Unight Aberdeen members, and said, "Violence and anti-social behaviour in licensed premises cannot be tolerated. It is all too often associated with alcohol consumption, with the consequences not only felt by the victim, but also by the police, ambulance and the Accident and Emergency staff at the hospital. I am delighted to see the city centre on-sales licensed trade taking positive action to help tackle the problem."

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