Alcohol seizures from off-licences

Tuesday 26th October

In a joint exercise with Customs and Excise 8 off-licences in the Brandwood
Ward were targeted and visited by Police Officers to inspect alcohol being
sold within these shops and whether duty had been paid on it. The
particular off-licenses were selected due to concerns about the prices of
their alcohol, but also irresponsible sales, to minors, for example.

The results of this exercise were that alcohol was seized from 7 of the
shops. Prosecutions are now pending, as well as licensing reviews. Pending the outcomes of these actions, there will be some wider promotion and publicity of these successes.

The results of this exercise and a similar one undertaken in Selly Oak in
the last 12 months (£35K of alcohol seized) are evidence of the feelings of
local officers that there are issues with the way in which a majority of
off-licences are being run.