Whit Friday Arrests Down On Last Year

Both volunteer and professional stewards helped run the contests.

Oldham’s most senior police officer has said the Whit Friday band contests were a “fantastic community event” as it was announced that arrests had more than halved compared with last year.

A total of 12 people were arrested, largely following alcohol-related incidents in Uppermill. That’s well down on the 27 who were detained in 2010.

Changes were made to the organisation of the contests this year, following both last year’s high number of arrests and the death of a spectator who was knocked over in Greenfield.

Oldham Council paid for professional stewards to help the traditional army of volunteers, something which allowed the police to focus their efforts on tackling any anti-social behaviour.

In a statement, Chief Superintendent Tim Forber said: “We had a good relationship with the organisers and we worked well together to plan the event, which was reflected in the fact there were no repeat of any scenes from last year and only a handful of people who let themselves down were arrested for minor disturbances.”

He added: “There was a really good atmosphere and it was a great family occasion for the people of Saddleworth.”

However, there has been some criticism on this website of what happened after the contests were over. One Dobcross resident wrote to Saddleworth News to say that his wife’s car had been damaged by “drunken yobs” late on Friday night. He called for a blanket ban on alcohol on Whit Friday in future.

The letter has provoked a variety of responses. Peter Ogden agreed: “I like a drink and have enjoyed many a band contest in my 30 years resident in various parts of Saddleworth. I’m sad to say enough is enough. Ban the booze.”

But Debra Blake argued: “It’s unjustified to blame the police for our binge drinking culture. It’s unfortunate that you were victims but you surely cannot expect the police to address or be present at every drink related incident.”

Elaine commented: “There was no trouble at Scouthead. We can’t seriously think about banning alcohol for everyone just because some kids can’t contain themselves!”

You can read the letter and see more comments by clicking here.

Full coverage of Whit Friday from Saddleworth News can be found here.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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