Just another night in binge-drink Britain: Police cells fill with 'black eye Friday'

Just another night in binge-drink Britain: Police cells fill with 'black eye Friday' fighters and women get so drunk they can only crawl


~ Violence causes chaos across country on traditionally rowdy night
~ Every cell in Cumbria full after anti-social behaviour offences
~ Violence in Newcastle city centre as festive binge drinkers run riot

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 07:36 EST, 22 December 2012
UPDATED: 03:44 EST, 23 December 2012
Comments (1227)

It is meant to be the season to be jolly - but Britain's towns and cities descended into chaos last night as binge-drinkers ditched festive spirit for mindless violence.
On the day colloquially known as 'black eye Friday', police officers packed town centres on one of their busiest nights of the year.

The last Friday before Christmas is traditionally a rowdy night due to the huge number of office parties taking place, the end of the academic term and workers being given Christmas bonuses.

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Battered and bruised: With blood pouring down his face, this reveller talks to police officers in Newcastle City Centre


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Showing all: A drunken young woman crawls along the street in Newcastle wearing no shoes

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Violent: A brawl breaks out on Black eye Friday in Newcastle, one of several fights reported in the city centre

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One too many: A man struggles to hold in vomit while another reveller urinated against a shop window

But rather than embracing festive merriment, many revellers simply resorted to base behaviour - brawling, vomiting and urinating in public.
One police force was kept so busy by drunken louts that all of its cells were occupied overnight.

A spokesman from Cumbria Police said it had made between 50 - 60 arrests related to anti-social behaviour offences and said that every cell in the county was full.

Photographs from around the country captured the mindlessness - with one young, scantily-clad woman pictured crawling along the soaking ground.

One man was captured being dragged into a police van with his trousers around his ankles, while others can be seen slumped against a wall urinating or hunching over vomiting.

Groups of men are pictured punching each other in the face.

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Battered: Police restrain a man in Newcastle, whose beaten face can be seen dripping with blood

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Injured: An officer helps a man into the recovery position after he was punched and hit his head on the floor

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Strong arm of the law: Another man is handcuffed and shoved in the back of a van

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Busted? A woman appears to have been arrested outside an Indian restaurant near Newcastle's notorious Bigg Market

There were particularly unsavoury scenes in Newcastle, with one man encapsulating the spirit of the night - sporting a bloodied eye that will no doubt by black in the morning.

Pub-owners in the city were happy though, reporting a surge in trade, with most bars packed from lunchtime as bosses sanctioned workers to leave for pubs.
The mood of the evening was summed up by revellers on Twitter.

Richard Ayre wrote: 'If you're out in Newcastle for black eye Friday - take care. Merry Christmas,' while Hollie O'Connell said: 'It's black eye Friday. And in Newcastle that means all day drinking.'

Despite the chaotic scenes in the city centre, Northumbria Police, which deployed hundreds of extra officers, said it had been a relatively peaceful night.

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Pants down: A man is put into a police van in Swansea wearing only a pair of boxer shorts on his bottom half

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Left hook: A man gets a punch in as yet another night out ends in violence in Newcastle

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Brawl: Three men continue to trade blows on the appropriately-named Black eye Friday

Inspector Helena Barron, said: 'We have matched our resources to meet demand in the city centre.

'There has been no issues and everyone seems to be well spirited.

'We will be monitoring the situation as we do every night.'

Punters in Botchergate, Cumbria, said that 'Black Eye Friday' had calmed down compared to previous years.

Ian Armstrong, from Harraby said there was a 'party atmosphere' early in the evening but that this often descended as the night went on.

But he added: 'It’s not like it used to be – it had a right reputation years ago.'

One woman, who would not give her name, added: 'Botchergate can be like a war zone. It’s mad in Botchergate on Black Eye Friday at night.'


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Tumble and fall: A young woman collapses in a heap in Swansea while her friend struggles to pick her up

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Down and out: Officers restrain a man in Swansea

Read more: Christmas 2012: Violence and vomiting in Britain's towns during festive season | Mail Online

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Shocking 62% rise in police officers being investigated for corruption with eight out of ten accused of illegally disclosing information

~ Anti-corruption units are facing a workload of 245 cases every month

By Robert Verkaik
PUBLISHED:21:46 EST, 22 December 2012
UPDATED:22:10 EST, 22 December 2012
Comments (83)

Record numbers of police officers are being investigated for corruption, a report into police integrity has found.

Anti-corruption units across the country are wrestling with a workload of 245 cases every month – a rise of 62 per cent from the year before.

Most of the investigations – eight out of ten – involve officers accused of illegally disclosing information to criminals and third parties.

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Internal affairs: Record numbers of police officers are being investigated for corruption, a report into police integrity has found

The remainder relate to other serious allegations of corruption, including bribery.

The findings have been released by the Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which completed a year-long inquiry last week.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Roger Baker said: ‘High-profile cases of alleged police corruption, other criminal behaviour and misconduct have had a detrimental effect on the reputation of the service.

‘This has implications not only for the effectiveness of police activity in fighting crime, which requires public engagement and involvement based on trust, but also for the very legitimacy of a public service many wish to hold in high regard.’

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/...62_306x423.jpg One of the most high profile cases was Ali Dizaei, a commander dismissed after he was jailed for misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice

According to the Inspectorate, 67 officers under investigation have left the police service through dismissal, retirement or resignation. Some 45 cases have been referred to external bodies for further investigation and 643 officers have been given warnings or advice.

Just over 700 of the 2,207 investigations that took place between September 2011 and May this year were still live.

The Inspectorate said that the rise in corruption cases was partly due to the effects of the nationwide introduction of anti-corruption units in 2006.

Separate Freedom of Information figures show that nearly 50 Metropolitan Police officers were suspended for corruption during the last three years.

One of the most high profile was Ali Dizaei, a commander dismissed after he was jailed for misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice. He has been released and is appealing against the conviction.

Sean Price, chief constable of Cleveland, was sacked in October for gross misconduct and is on bail in a separate criminal investigation for corruption.

In the same month, Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire, had to resign over his alleged role, which he denies, in concocting false information to smear the victims of the Hillsborough football disaster. He remains under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

The report recommended a clampdown on the use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

A total of 357 instances of potentially inappropriate comments were identified on sites, spread across 185 profiles, HMIC said.

They featured ‘offensive language, comments on police procedure, negativity towards work and extreme opinions on government’.

This year, a Nottinghamshire officer was disciplined after posting obscene racist abuse on Facebook about the quality of staff at a call centre in India.

Chief Constable Mike Cunningham of the Association of Chief Police Officers said: ‘This report, in common with other independent analysis from bodies such as the IPCC, confirms that the majority of officers and staff, at all levels, seek to act with integrity.’

Read more: Shocking 62% rise in police officers being investigated for corruption | Mail Online

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