Alcohol and crime...

Some early indications of what may and may not be included in the Government's alcohol strategy are provided by a new Home Office report, Alcohol and Crime: Taking Stock.

Publication of the report prompted the government to reaffirm that pubs and the police need to take effective action against alcohol-related violence and that to achieve this, it wants greater use of pub exclusions, laws on anti-social behaviour, and alcohol bye-laws.

However, the report conspicuously avoids reference to known links between violent crime and the overall level of alcohol consumption even though it was previous Home Office research that drew particular attention to them. The study found that growth in beer consumption was the most important single factor explaining growth in violent crime. The new report also sidesteps most of the issues concerned with liquor licensing.

The Report

The report states that more than 13,000 violent incidents occur in and around pubs in England and Wales every week. It suggests greater use of pub bouncers, tougher glass to reduce injuries, more food provision to soak up alcohol, and better public transport to cut down on drinking and driving.

The government also proposes a media campaign to promote "sensible drinking", greater use of treatment programmes for those convicted of alcohol-related crimes, and better training of police officers dealing with the problem.

The report found that more than half of the 400 crime and disorder partnerships between police and other agencies in England and Wales have a specific policy on alcohol-related crime. Charles Clarke, the Home Office minister said, "I want to see more such partnerships at this level which include publicans and other in the alcohol industry."

The Home Office study was launched at the Alcohol Concern annual conference in November, this year devoted to the theme of 'Alcohol, Crime, and Disorder'. Mr Clarke told delegates: "Alcohol-related crime is a significant problem in society - a problem which has no single cause and no magic solution.

"I am particularly pleased with today's recommendations for more joined-up action - only by working together across government, law enforcement, voluntary agencies, and the licensed trade can we reduce crime linked to alcohol abuse."

Early next year the government is to host a seminar of key figures in the area of alcohol and crime and will be publishing examples of good practice in combating the problem.

In a survey published at the same time as the Home Office report, Alcohol Concern says police believe alcohol to be a far greater problem for them than illicit drugs. It says 68 per cent of officers encountered alcohol-related crime and disorder every day, 96 per cent thought crime statistics did not properly show the scale of the problem, and 84 per cent thought insufficient priority was given to schemes to tackle it. The counter-measures which most officers preferred were a ban on drinking in the streets and tougher penalties for offenders.

Drawing on the most recent research in the area, the report highlights the complex relationship between alcohol and crime. Causal relationships between the two include offences which occur because the offender has consumed alcohol, typically public disturbance and domestic violence. Contributory relationships include "drinking for 'dutch courage' to facilitate an offence which requires an element of courage, alcohol acting as a trigger, or used as an excuse for offending behaviour." Organisations working in gaols, such as the Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPt), are only too aware of the number of men and women serving sentences as a consequence of alcohol misuse. Some of them, of course, are imprisoned because it is difficult to be an efficient burglar with faculties blunted by alcohol. Many professional criminals find methadone a more reliable tool when "bottle" is required.

Although the the relationship between alcohol and aggression is not simple, says the report, "a high proportion of violent crime (50 to 80 per cent), including assault, rape, and homicide, is committed by an intoxicated person". 125,000 of the half a million facial injuries suffered in the United Kingdom every year are the result of violence and in the "majority of cases (61 per cent) either the victim or the assailant had been drinking alcohol".

Alcohol and Crime: Taking Stock emphasises the importance of proper training for licensees and the control of the drinking environment. "Maintaining premises, training staff to deal with intoxicated customers, promoting alcohol in a sensible manner, filtering patrons from licensed premises by using staggered closing times can all be elements in an overall strategy."

The report concludes with a statement of the need for a co-ordinated approach. It quotes Alcohol Concern's recent proposals for a national alcohol strategy in stating that the problem should be tackled by "focusing not only on the individual but on society as a whole".