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The Community Alcohol Partnership model was developed by the Retail of Alcohol Standards Group (RASG).

It aims to tackle public underage drinking through co-operation between alcohol retailers and local stakeholders, such as Trading Standards, police, local authority licensing teams, schools and health networks.

CAP addresses both the demand and supply side of underage drinking through enforcement, education and public perception.

How does this work in practice?

CAPs activity revolve around two key themes; information sharing and dealing with young people and parents.

Retailers and local authorities commit to share information on problems with underage alcohol; if retailers or local authorities become aware of existing or potential problems relating to alcohol in a local store they would share this information with their partners and work with them to solve the problem.  This has worked well in combating proxy purchasing and drawing the attention of local authorities to hotspot areas for underage drinking. 

If enforcement agencies still feel, having worked with the premises, that test purchase operations are necessary, all operations should be reported to the retailer involved, whatever the result. This should be done as quickly as possible after the event, which, in the event of a successfully refused sale would enable the retailer to use this information with staff to enhance current training and general age related sales awareness.

Work with young people and parents aims to raise the profile of the legal implications of 16 / 17 year olds trying to buy alcohol illegally, whether purchased by themselves or by proxy.  This is done through joint confiscation operations between police and trading standards, in co-operation and communication with staff in the local shops, and educational sessions for pupils and parents in local colleges and schools highlighting the legal issues in attempting to purchase alcohol and raising awareness of proxy purchasing. 

There are currently 26 CAPs operating or under discussion in 11 counties.

More information in our  CAP Leaflet

The independent evaluation of Kent CAP is available at http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/kent/kcap.htm

For more information on CAP or to find out how the model could be applied in your area, please contact Philip Loring, CAP Officer, on 02070893877 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.