Banbury police tour pubs and nightspots with sniffer dogs in search for drugs and knives in Operation Jinglebells
Banbury neighbourhood police have embarked on Operation Jinglebells checking out pubs and nightspots with sniffer dogs
The operation is described as 'a multi-agency approach to policing the night-time economy' over the festive period. They hope to keep the public safe from those using drugs or carrying knives.
Working with partners from Cherwell District Council Community Safety Team they will be 'educating' revellers on the dangers of drinking in excess, drug use and personal safety.
In a Facebook post last night (Friday) they said: "This evening the team have been out in Banbury Town Centre along with our licensing officer ensuring venues are sticking to the terms of their licence.
"We were also joined by drugs detection dogs utilising our stop and search powers where appropriate to remove any illegal substances. This is an ongoing operation that will run throughout December.
"Clearly we won't be publicising when we will be out and about - so our advice is don't take drugs, leave any weapons at home, drink responsibility and stay safe this Christmas."
The neighbourhood team has officers out on the streets during the rest of the year but they say the special December operation is scheduled because of the increase in the number of people going out to celebrate over the festive period.
"It’s not meant to be a stick to beat anyone with - we work closely with licensees and ultimately just want to keep people safe," they said.
"We can’t be everywhere all of the time but if we know about an issue we can look to work with the public and partner agencies to do something. We can be emailed on [email protected]