Police make more than 15 arrests in Gloucestershire on Black Eye Friday
More than 15 people kicked off the festive period behind bars on what is known notoriously as ‘Black Eye Friday’. Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed 15 people were arrested in the force area yesterday (Friday December 22) and spent the night in a cell for acts of violence, drunkenness or for using illicit drugs. Black Friday, Mad Friday, Frantic Friday or Black Eye Friday is a nickname for the Friday[1] before Christmas Eve[2].
It is the most popular night for end-of-year corporate and industrial Christmas parties[3], which as a result makes it one of the busiest nights in the year for ambulance crews and police especially when revellers have had too much to drink and end up in brawls, or in A&E with drink-related injuries. Sometimes called Builders’ Friday, as it is the last day of work for many construction workers, in places like Devon it can also be known as Factory Friday as it was historically the last day of work for many factory workers who used to finish work at lunchtime and spend the rest of the day socialising in pubs. In the North of England, the term “Mad Friday” has been around since at least the early nineties.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gloucestershire Constabulary said Christmas parties do not have to involve getting stitches in hospital or a night in the cell. They added: “More than 15 people were in cells this morning (Saturday December 23) for violence, drink and drugs. Please do what you can to promote self-control amongst friends.
If they’re staring, shouting or squaring up, step in if safe, make eye contact and help them walk away.
A quick apology for them may calm everything.”