Gary Newlove - the true price of binge drinking?

The kicking to death of father-of-three Gary Newlove in Warrington, Cheshire by a gang of teenage boys led by Adam Swellings, gave a powerful further prompt to the national debate on binge drinking and its link to crime and anti-social behaviour, who is to blame and what should be done. The teenagers were drunk on cheap, strong cider and high on cannabis at the time of the murder.

Before the killers were sentenced, the Chief Constable of Cheshire, Peter Fahy, spoke of a hard core of young men not in work, education or training but characterised by poor or non-existent parenting combined with ready access to cheap alcohol. He called for schools and other local agencies to develop a joint strategy to target this hard core. He wanted the parents concerned to be called to account, and he also demanded action at national level – higher taxes on alcohol, especially high strength lager and cider, for it to be made easier for a whole town centre to be made an alcohol-free zone, and the legal age for buying alcohol raised to 21.

However, Cheshire Constabulary were themselves criticized for failing to take action against the Swellings gang. One of their earlier victims, ironically the teenage daughter of a Cheshire police officer, described how she and her friends were threatened and attacked by Swellings on several occasions. She said:

“I think the police should feel ashamed of themselves. They could have prevented all of this. It’s so sad that someone has to lose his life because people didn’t do anything about (Swellings) and his gang. It’s taken someone to be murdered for them to sit up and do something.”

Helen Newlove, Gary’s widow, condemned the magistrates for releasing Adam Swellings from court on bail only hours before he and his friends murdered her husband. Swellings had pleaded guilty to assaulting another man who had complained about him and his friends causing trouble around his house. The Crown Prosecution Service had advised against releasing Swellings on the grounds that he had breached previous bail conditions but the Warrington magistrates disregarded the advice.

Mrs Newlove said:

“We knew he (Swellings) had previous convictions, but it was a shock to hear he had been released that day. I’m absolutely disgusted. These magistrates, it’s unbelievable. They let him out and walk the streets…. He’s gone out, got drunk and taken drugs and my husband has been left dead.”

In an unusual move, Cheshire police in the person of Gary Finchett, then Acting Chief Superintendent for Warrington, wrote an open letter to the people of the town via the local newspaper, the Warrington Guardian, calling for the community to pull together to solve the problems of anti-social behaviour. Mr Finchett explained that while crimes such as the murder of Gary Newlove were rare and that the level of crime and anti-social behaviour in Warrington was declining, as it was in the whole of Cheshire, it was still too high. He wrote:

"No one can be anything but appalled by the tragic death of Gary Newlove and the devastating impact that this has had on his family, friends and the community of Warrington. The police have a vital role in tackling the scourge of alcohol related crime and antisocial behaviour in our society. However, crime and anti-social behaviour is not the sole responsibility of the police and we cannot do this alone.

“The fact is that society, responsible authorities, parents/carers and the licensing trade all need to do a lot more. Alcohol and substance misuse, drinking in public, the absence of parental control, a lack of responsible citizenship, the abdication of responsibility by a small hard-core of young people and their parents/carers and the ready availability of strong, cheap alcohol sometimes purchased by adults for young people are significant contributory factors to crime and antisocial behaviour in our neighbourhoods.

“Society's promotion of an alcohol culture and a tendency to find humour in drunkenness, along with outlets irresponsibly selling cheap strong alcohol, and parents who condone such consumption lie at the heart of this problem. Tackling this complex and deep-seated problem cannot be the sole responsibility of the police. A modern and committed society must see that we must address these issues together.

“My Neighbourhood Policing Units spend a huge amount of time dealing with the impact of alcohol abuse, particularly the impact on young people. Over Christmas and New Year every available police officer and CSO in Warrington was allotted duties to tackle alcohol related crime as well as underage drinking. If society wants the police to deal with anti-social behaviour all of the time, it must ask itself what it doesn't want us to do……. There is an alcohol culture in this country which is not repeated in other countries where alcohol is enjoyed more responsibly. The police and local authority are key stakeholders in the debate around strong, cheap alcohol which is too readily available. We are also jointly responsible with Trading Standards and other responsible authorities for enforcing the licensing laws which is why, despite a successful Pubwatch and Challenge 21 Scheme, we have proactively targeted offlicenses and other licensed premises suspected of directly or indirectly supplying alcohol to children. Alcohol misuse by young people is a grave concern of mine. Warrington has one of the highest admission rates to Accident and Emergency Departments of females under 16 years for alcohol related illness in the Country. I have also received a letter from a Consultant in Emergency Care expressing his concern about seriously intoxicated underage drinkers. Responsible members of the licensing trade are also working with us to tackle this problem.

“Gary Newlove's death was fuelled by alcohol. We will continue to lobby the licensing trade to stop cheap drinks promotions, to limit the alcohol content of strong beer and to consider raising the legal drinking age to 21. Ultimately, parents and young people must act responsibly and respect the communities they live in.

“The high density of bars, pubs and clubs and fast food outlets in Warrington Town Centre is a particular concern of mine. We have the highest density of licensed premises outside Blackpool. Too many of my resources are being dragged in from our neighbourhoods to police the town centre at night. My officers are taking quick and decisive action yet still being overrun by the spill-out of drunks from licensed premises who offer no alternative to an environment which encourages and facilitates drinking to excess, premises which offer cheap booze deals just in order to stay competitive, and an environment that speaks loudly to all who look in upon it as if to suggest that there is nothing wrong with their behaviour.

“We are dealing with too many people who arrive in the town centre late at night, often already having consumed cheap, strong alcohol elsewhere, getting more and more intoxicated as the night progresses, hanging around fast food outlets until the early hours of the morning and then become either the victims or perpetrators of crimes such as criminal damage and assault. We are committed to working with Warrington Borough Council to address this issue once and for all. We expect all other partners including the licensing trade to match our commitment. Society needs moral integrity to set and police its own values and standards to prevent such incidents occurring in the future. Mr Newlove's tragic death was caused by the criminal actions of youths who had consumed alcohol. It only took a few seconds of alcohol-fuelled violence to destroy a life. The police cannot always be there in those moments. It is a credit to my police officers and staff that the offenders were arrested and brought to justice so swiftly.”