One Punch Can Kill

Too much drink can turn a good night into a tragic disaster with potentially lethal consequences.

Alcohol-fuelled violence has resulted in the deaths of two young men in the city over the last two years.

Kyle Bartlett was one of them. Tragically, on May 5th 2009, he was fatally injured during a fight inside a bar on Guildhall Walk.

His mother is now campaigning to reduce alcohol-related violence in Portsmouth’s bars, pubs and clubs. Ann Bartlett wants to educate young people in schools and colleges as well as licensees, bar staff and door staff.

She joined forces with us to launch the ‘One Punch Can Kill’ campaign in Portsmouth on 3rd May 2011 around the second anniversary of his death. The campaign will ran throughout the summer and now we are launching our campaign video to highlight the very real dangers and consequences of alcohol fuelled violence.

Posters with a hard-hitting image are being displayed in pubs, clubs and bars supporting the campaign across the city.

Mock ‘crime scenes’ were displayed in key entertainment areas across the city on each Saturday night in May, to highlight the potential consequences of alcohol fuelled violence to people enjoying a night out.

An educational programme for young people will be delivered to schools and colleges across the city by Portsmouth City Council’s Health Improvement and Development Service and Portsmouth City Council’s Trading Standards team will be training 80 bar/club staff in how to combat alcohol fuelled violence.

For more information on the Kyle Bartlett Memorial Fund visit www.KBMF.co.uk

See the original campaign press release here 

Facts – Portsmouth

All violent incidents in Portsmouth dropped 6% from 2009/10 to 2010/11 from 4,301 to 4,043.

Over the last five years, violent incidents in Portsmouth’s night-time economy areas accounts for on average 14% of all violence (domestic violence, by contrast, account for about 25%).

Incidents of night-time economy related violence in Portsmouth:
2006/07:  601
2007/08:  519
2008/09:  531
2009/10:  627
2010/11:  623

Of those, the number of serious violent incidents increased from 20 in 2009/10 to 30 in 2010/11 and assaults with a glass were down from 26 to 20.

Young men aged 18-25yrs committed 39% of all violent offences in 2009/10.