The Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership, Lothian and Borders Police, the City of Edinburgh Council and British Transport Police are cracking down on alcohol fuelled violence and disorder throughout Christmas in a huge multi agency campaign starting Friday 27 November.

This is the third year of Operation Astrodome, which encompasses a huge package of partnership safety initiatives throughout the festive season. Previous years have been a great success, with the crime rate dropping 16 per cent in the city centre in December 2008.

As well as tackling alcohol related disorder, it also involves measures to make sure people get home safely after a night out and bolsters public reassurance through a highly visible police presence.

Some of the initiatives that are taking place in the years campaign include:

-An extension of the popular Transport Marshals scheme. Transport Marshals will help people get home safely and highlight alternative night time transport options. (Transport Marshals will be located at the taxi stances on Lothian Road at Rutland Place, Lothian Road at Sheraton Hotel., Waverley Bridge, on the High Street at the Radisson Hotel and at the top of Leith Walk at Baxter Place).

- Police officers, from the Edinburgh Licensing Standard Initiative, and Council Licensing Standard Officers will be visiting clubs and off licenses to ensure compliance with licensing laws.

- Additional police officers will be patrolling on Friday and Saturday nights throughout December.

-Community Safety Officers and Environmental Wardens will provide extra patrols to support the Police.

- Mobile CCTV unit will provide extra support to Police at hotspots within the city on every weekend and whenever necessary throughout December.

- Gateway checks - checks by police and Bus Route managers during early evening period on main arterial routes into town providing a visible presence and early identification of potential problems.

- British Transport Police will conduct a Safe Journey operation on the rail network throughout the city providing reassurance to people travelling on public transport and to address issues of antisocial behaviour on public transport.

- Dedicated ambulance resources will be present in the city centre.

Councillor Paul Edie, Community Safety Leader, said: "Edinburgh is a wonderful place at Christmas and we want to make sure residents, visitors and revellers enjoy the festive period. By working with our partners we can really concentrate our efforts and ensure that we achieve the best possible results so that everyone can have a safe and merry Christmas."

Superintendent Mark Williams from Lothian and Borders Police said "Christmas is traditionally a time for going out and enjoying yourself and Lothian and Borders Police are committed to making Edinburgh a safe place to enjoy the festive season. We will have a particular focus on alcohol fuelled violence and disorder, and we will be working closely with our partners to prevent such behaviour spoiling the enjoyment of others.

I would ask the public to work with us to support our efforts so to make the capital a safe place for everyone this Christmas."

Inspector David Gray, the officer in charge of the Edinburgh sector of British Transport Police, said:

"The joined up approach with the other partners involved has worked extremely well in previous years although the initiative is not about British Transport Police being killjoys. On the contrary, I would encourage people to use the trains to travel, but they must also be aware that BTP will not tolerate anti social behaviour or any kind of criminality on the rail network, that will spoil the enjoyment of the festive season for others."