- The breaking up of a fight in Huntingdon Market Square (leading to the arrest of an attacker who had struck someone with a bottle)
- The breaking up of a fight in St Neots
- The arrest of an individual for Class A drug possession
- Attending an incident of domestic violence in Huntingdon
- The apprehension of 4 youths smoking cannabis in Hartford
- The pursuit of an individual attempting to break into properties in Huntingdon
Mr Djanogly said;'I had, of course, expected a certain degree of drunkenness and even fighting, but the level and intensity of the misbehaviour that I saw was an eye-opener for me.
'I was very impressed with the way that the Police handled every situation that we encountered in the evening both in terms of response and the sensitive and professional attitude that they displayed in often highly combustive and potentially violent situations. We have relatively few Police to cover a very large rural area. Indeed, during the course of the evening we were backwards and forwards between Huntingdon, St Neots, Godmanchester and Brampton at least half-a-dozen times.
'The incidents that we attended were, I was told, quite typical for a warm summers evening. However, they are also quite typical of what you will find in towns around the whole country, namely, the incidents and problems relating to misuse of drugs and alcohol.
'Ultimately, the Police can contain the incidents as they arise, but they can only play a supporting role in addressing the wider issues here for our communities. To that end, I wholly endorse the project started in St Neots and now being rolled out across the county, The Community Alcohol Project, which aims at educating children and parents through schools and engages Trading Standards, Councils, the Police and importantly the alcohol retailers who work together to put in place the procedures for preventing alcohol misuse rather than simply prosecuting those who have done wrong.
'Obviously I am concerned at the latest Home Office figures which show that 47 percent of violence against the person offences were alcohol related in 2008-09. If projected to Huntingdonshire, this amounts to approximately 695 alcohol related violent incidents in the last year which is obviously very worrying. The Conservative Party has a number of proposals to tackle this problem including:
- Stronger powers and more discretion for elected local councils, and a greater say for local residents on licensing applications.
- Tougher penalties for premises which sell alcohol to under-age drinkers.
- Reviewing the rules which allow fast food outlets like kebab and pizza shops to sell alcohol into the early hours.
- Rebalancing the duty on alcohol: reducing rates on low-alcohol beers and ciders, and increasing it on very high-strength products and on alcopops.
'I am very grateful to the Police for offering me this opportunity as it has provided me with a great insight into the job that they do in what are often difficult circumstances.'
Photo: Jonathan joins a patrol from the Central Division of Cambridgeshire Police.