Commercial pub crawls promote bingeing

New guidance codifies law enforcers’ powers to control pub/bar crawls

New research conducted by the Centre for Public Health, based at Liverpool John Moores University, found that commercially organised pub crawls for students, not surprisingly, appear to promote heavy drinking and sometimes illegal consumption, and are, naturally, accompanied by the health and social issues normally associated with bingeing.

Professor Mark Bellis, Director of the Centre for Public Health, and one of the authors of the report, commented:

“In September, tens of thousands of students will be initiated into university binge drinking cultures through pub-crawls or other alcoholpromoting events. Most will be unaware that alcohol bingeing is one of the biggest killers of individuals of their age. The UK consistently leads Europe’s binge drinking tables but there is unlikely to be any change if the first part of a University education is a tutorial in extreme inebriation.”

The study

The researchers measured the drinking habits of students participating in commercially organised pub/bar crawls across England. They found that the scale of some larger events rendered organisers’ efforts to avoid negative consequences ineffective. A fifth (21%) of participants had illegally drunk alcohol in the street, despite street drinking bans, and the majority (87%) had consumed alcohol before joining the pub/bar crawl (pre-loading). Young adults consumed, on average, more than four times the government recommended daily unit guidelines for alcohol during the night – women typically drank around 13 units and men consumed 18 units. A follow-up survey found that 14% of participants reported hurting themselves, for example falling over, on the night.

The study, commissioned by the alcohol industry’s Drinkaware, was undertaken in response to increasing concerns about the health and social cost of events targeted at students. Informed by the results of the study, Drinkaware and the National Union of Students also commissioned the preparation of new guidance notes outlining the range of procedures and powers at the disposal of local authority licensing offi cers and police offi cers to manage safe pub/ bar crawls and reduce public nuisance.

Developed with the support of the Association of Chief Police Offi cers (ACPO) and the Home Offi ce, the resource highlights the legal powers in the Licensing Act available to law enforcers to tackle issues relating to bar crawls and provides a model event organisers, law enforcers, universities and local partners can use to reduce the harm associated with pub/bar crawls. It recommends that organisers take greater responsibility for student safety and work more closely with venues and local law enforcement officers to prevent a good night turning bad.

Key recommendations include:

• Law enforcement officers, universities and student unions should share knowledge and experiences of commercial pub/bar crawls.

• In the planning stages, law enforcement officers should make bar crawl organisers and venues aware of their legal responsibilities and seek to identify and resolve anything which contravenes these.

• Local law enforcement officers should liaise with bar crawl organisers and venues to write a voluntary Bar Crawl Code of Conduct to ensure the safety and legality of an event, in the interests of both participants and the public.

• To limit the impact on local public services and avoid harm to participants, law enforcers should work with organisers to agree an upper limit on the size of bar crawls, appropriate to the area. Organisers should also be encouraged to arrange for all bar crawls to be supervised by first aid trained stewards.

Launching the new guidance, Pete Mercer, Vice President of Welfare at the NUS said: “As we see an increase in commercial bar crawls, it will be crucial for students’ unions, local police forces and councils to work together to minimise the detrimental impact they can have on the health and wellbeing of students, as well as on the local community.

“This practical guide for law enforcement officers is a welcome and responsible step forward in providing appropriate advice and support to ensure that students can enjoy their night out but also protect themselves and each other while they’re at it. It is equally vital that commercial organisers stop burying their heads in the sand and take their responsibility for the safety of students seriously.”