London, Dec 27 (Inditop) More and more British women are behaving loutishly in a trend police link to relaxed laws that allow pubs and bars to remain open for 24 hours.
The number of women fined on the spot for loutish behaviour has trebled since pub and bar opening hours were relaxed three years ago, and police chiefs Friday blamed the surge in “ladette” offences on the increased availability of alcohol.
Police figures obtained by the Daily Mail newspaper show that nearly 37,100 fines of up to 80 pounds were issued on women last year for offences such as being drunk in the street, shouting abuse or damaging property.
This is more than three times the 11,020 fines in 2004-05, the last year before round-the-clock drinking was introduced in Britain.
Police Federation vice-chairman Simon Reed said a rise in women-friendly “superpubs”, which can hold 2,000-3,000 people, encouraged women to drink more and behave boorishly.
“There are special deals on bottled drinks targeted towards ladies and they’ll go there in large gangs of 10 or 12 and stay out very late. Women are much more confident in these large groups once the drink is flowing.
“They tend to mimic the behaviour of men; they become braver and often begin squabbling between themselves. The problems usually begin at about 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. We see squabbles, violence, women being drunk on the street.”
When the government introduced changes to pub closing hours in November 2005, it said the move would help crack down on yobbish behaviour by encouraging those selling alcohol to ensure it is being consumed responsibly.
rounak