Black Eye Friday: Police to flood streets as minister vows extra assist subsequent yr

Labour’s Policing Minister says she is confident forces are prepared for ‘Black Eye Friday’ – and promised they will have more resources next year.

Dame Diana Johnson spoke to The Mirror as she joined officers patrolling Birmingham ahead of one of the busiest nights of the year. Tens of thousands of revellers are expected to descend on town and city centres across the country on the last Friday before Christmas.

Last year police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland made a total of 3,300 arrests on ‘Black Eye Friday’ or ‘Mad Friday’ – so named because of disorder linked to drunken Christmas celebrations. It was the highest number of arrests last December and one of the busiest days of the year.

West Midlands’ top officer told The Mirror his officers have been trained to spot would-be thugs and sex offenders who plan to prey on the vulnerable and drunk. Chief Constable Craig Guildford urged people to come into the city centre and have a good night.

Dame Diana said she was reassured that officers will be out in force, with dozens of uniformed and plain clothed police set to be on patrol in Birmingham this weekend. After attending a briefing and speaking to city centre teams she said: “I think they they’re obviously very well-practiced at dealing with this time of year when it gets really busy.

“You can see around you, they’ve got plans in place, they know where to target. And they’re providing that reassurance and that presence.”

Dame Diana continued: “They work all year round on this, so I’m fairly confident.” Labour has promised to bulk up neighbourhood and town centre teams by 13,000 officers, PCSOs and special constables within the next five years.

This week the Government pledged £100million for police forces to start rolling this out – with recruitment expected from April. Asked how many would be in place by Christmas 2025, Dame Diana said: “We’re working on that now. We’ve been in power for five months, this is one of our manifesto commitments, we are certainly working on this as quickly as we can.”

The Policing Minister continued: “Certainly yes, we will see that from April onwards, that commitment to rolling out the 13,000.” The cabinet member said she was pleased that police will be proactively approaching those whose behaviour raises suspicion.

Dame Diana said: “They’re providing that reassurance, but they’re also challenging when there’s something not right. And I think that’s that’s really positive.”

Mr Guildford said his officers will be out to spot offenders before they can strike. He said: “The idea is to prevent offences, particularly if you think very much later on in the evening – who is it that’s not interacting, who’s in the shadows, who might be in a doorway waiting?

“Who would want to try and prey on somebody who’s a bit vulnerable or a bit tipsy? It’s those types of individuals that we’re after.”

He said: “There will be lots of cops on duty, and the message to the public is come into the city, have a good night and think about how are you going to get home. Please don’t drink and drive.”