LESS than 18 months ago Warrington was portrayed nationally as having a toxic epi-centre riddled with alcohol-fuelled violence that was spinning out of control.

In a move to rid the area of its bad image last February, Warrington Borough Council – in partnership with the police and PCT – put together a 10-point plan to quash peoples’ fears that it was becoming a ‘no go’ area.

In a coup for the partnership, 14 months since the plans were first hammered out, the town has turned itself around to become one of the 12 best examples in the UK of partnership working and will carry the beacon of good practice for the next year.

Crime reporter Nicola Davies examines what has changed and if the situation really is any better.CENTRAL to the improvements is the dedicated town centre neighbourhood policing unit which has cleaned up the area’s damning image as a haven for alcohol-related crime.

Led by Insp Richard Reeves and his team of 26 officers, it was established to focus exclusively on the town centre and has seen a 60 per cent slash in anti-social behaviour, a 30 per cent fall in violent crime and an increase in drug-related arrests.

Supt Jed Manley, who has been instrumental in the plans, said: “Warrington had a national reputation developed from incidents such as the murder of Garry Newlove and a number of others in the town centre. This was all around the time that alcohol had become a topic of major national issues and debates.

“Unfortunately Warrington had found its way to the top of that debate for the wrong reasons.

“Our task with partnership agencies was to address that situation – quite clearly it could not be allowed to go on and it was up to us to take the lead in driving up standards, improving the reputation and making Warrington a safe place.”

Officers focused on the night time trade to improve the town’s reputation by using a range of enforcement powers and began wielding a new weapon against anti-social behaviour in the form of section 27 notices ordering those who have drunk too much to leave the town centre.

Working on a three-strikes basis, those caught drunk and disorderly in the town centre on the third occasion will be referred to Pubwatch to consider a permanent ban.

Supt Manley added: “In consultation with pubwatch we set about changing the drinking culture in Warrington.

“As a last resort with those that haven’t co-operated, we have used licensing laws to impose conditions or stop them trading.

“People now know when they come into Warrington there are certain standards of behaviour expected. Compared to 12 months ago, the town centre has been transformed. It’s a real success story and we should start celebrating the positive changes.”

Insp Reeves added: “We want to ensure this continues and we develop the same standards for the day time economy.”