A "DRUNK bus" offering counselling and a safe haven for inebriated revellers could soon be hitting the streets of Edinburgh.
The move is being considered by police, council bosses and health chiefs as they launched a new anti-violence strategy in the Capital today.
The SOS bus service has proven a success in a number of English towns and cities, where the vehicle acts a
s a refuge for drunks.
Staffed by trained volunteers, the buses offer help for clubbers who are injured or feeling threatened in any way. Minibuses parked alongside can even offer lifts home in some circumstances.
Members of the Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership are set to visit Norwich, where the buses were pioneered, to determine how they could work here.
The scheme is one of a host of measures being considered by the multi-agency group as part of its five-year Edinburgh Violence Reduction Programme (EVRP). The EVRP is aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence and street attacks, as well as violence against women.
Superintendent Ramzan Mohayuddin, the force's lead officer on violence in Edinburgh, said: "People who have drunk too much can go to these SOS buses for support and advice.
"Research has shown that people aged 20 to 30 are most likely to find themselves in a vulnerable position due to alcohol.
"If they can be taken to a designated place of safety they cannot be taken advantage of."
Among the other measures in the EVRP scheme is analysing streets in Edinburgh which have the highest numbers of violent crime.
Once identified, the team will look at either adding extra CCTV to them, or designing out architectural flaws which make those streets more dangerous.
A new crime report system will allow officers to specify when alcohol was a factor in an effort to build up a better picture of drink-related offending.
Councillor Paul Edie, chair of the Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership, said: "Through this strategy we plan to prevent violence from occurring, help those at risk of becoming a victim or offender and treating those who are already committing violence or are being victimised."
The ERVP also intends to focus heavily on violence against women.
There were 4300 such incidents of domestic abuse in the force area between April and September last year alone.
The full article contains 387 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
