In Focus: Alcohol Harm

Police forces have launched a week-long campaign highlighting the realities faced by those dealing with drunkenness and alcohol-related incidents.

In Focus: Alcohol Harm initiative will see forces out on the streets with mobile custody suites and medical triage facilities to deal with the drunk and disorderly.

Neighbourhood policing teams, special constables, police cadets and volunteers such as street pastors will be deployed in drinking hotspots.

Police will be addressing new students at fresher’s weeks on staying safe and providing awareness training on vulnerability with security and bar staff.

There will be age ID checks, drug swabbing and drink-drive operations. Licensing teams are working with partners conducting test purchasing operations for shops and bars and visiting problem venues.

Forces will also be tweeting their day to day activities tackling alcohol harm in the communities they serve.

The campaign, launched to coincide with college and university freshers’ season, will have national policing lead on alcohol harm Chief Constable Adrian Lee, taking to Twitter to answer questions about policing and alcohol.

He said: “Police are all too often having to care for people who have clearly failed to take care of themselves. These people need to grow up and take responsibility. Drinking so much that you can’t think clearly makes you vulnerable and more likely to become a victim of crime, be injured or be involved in violence.

“We’re not here to clean you up and drop you home or mediate drunken arguments. We’d prefer our officers to be in their communities fighting crime rather than being pulled off their beats into town centres every weekend.”

Drink-fuelled anti-social behaviour in our pubs, clubs and on our streets is just part of the problem. Nearly 50 per cent of all violent crime is alcohol related. Offenders are thought to be under the influence of alcohol in nearly half of all incidents of domestic abuse and alcohol plays a part in 25 to 33 per cent of known child abuse cases. Excessive drinking clearly increases your likelihood of committing a crime or becoming a victim.

Chief Constable Lee added: “The harm that alcohol can do in our communities and the impact it has on policing is sometimes unrecognised or ignored. It shouldn’t be.

“Alcohol harm is a social issue that we all have a stake in solving. There is more to do working with government and the alcohol industry but above all, personal responsibility is key.

“Don’t be a drain on police time because you’ve had too much to drink. Take responsibility for yourself.

“The police service is realistic that it has to make budget reductions but the impact of excessive drinking is an example of the real operational challenges we face.

“We need to put officers on the streets to keep people safe and prevent crimes from occurring as well as responding when they do. But the result of that decision is that these are police officers who are not doing all the other things that the government and public want them to prioritise.”

Activity

Chief Constable Adrian Lee has some availability for interviews over the week- please contact the ACPO Press Office to arrange an interview.

For interviews, filming or recording with police forces please contact the ACPO Press Office who can advise on opportunities and provide contacts in forces.

CC Adrian Lee will be doing a Twitter question and answer session on Thursday 19 September 2013 from 12.30pm- 2.30pm answering questions about alcohol and policing.

Police forces across the country will be tweeting about the alcohol-related incidents they deal with on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

The ACPO Press Office can be contacted via 020 7084 8946/47/48 (office hours) or via 07803 903686 (out of office hours).

Additional comments

Crime Prevention Minister Jeremy Browne said:

“I welcome this campaign to raise awareness of the impact of alcohol-fuelled crime, which costs around £11 billion a year in England and Wales.

“Frontline police officers are all too aware of the drunken behaviour and alcohol-fuelled disorder that can effectively turn towns and cities into no-go areas for law-abiding people, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.

“The government is taking a wide range of action to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder. This includes introducing a ban on alcohol sales below the level of duty plus VAT to tackle the worst cases of very cheap and harmful drink.”

Anne Foster, Director of Marketing and Communications at alcohol education charity Drinkaware, says:

“Excessive drinking and drunken behaviour has a negative impact on communities, families, businesses and public services. Every year, £21 billion is spent on health, crime, policing costs and costs to the economy that are a result of excessive drinking. Considering the high price paid, we must act swiftly to address this, and we believe it starts with personal responsibility. Drinkaware is committed to reducing alcohol related harm through education, awareness campaigns and working with partners to stem the rising tide of alcohol misuse.”

Rosanna O’Connor, Director of Alcohol and Drugs for Public Health England, said:

“The harmful effects of alcohol impact significantly on individuals, families and communities. It is a big contributor to crime and disorder, underachievement, ill health and premature death. Alcohol misuse costs society £21bn per year and much of this is preventable.

Local police and health teams are increasingly under pressure to manage the consequences of alcohol fuelled offending and injuries, putting pressure on limited resources which could be invested in improving public health and community safety. Public Health England welcomes this latest police campaign to raise awareness of the impact of alcohol harm and we support their efforts to encourage business to sell alcohol more responsibly, and to encourage people to drink less and more safely.”

Colum McGuire, National Union of Students Vice President Welfare said:

“NUS fully supports this campaign on responsible drinking. The first few weeks of higher education should be fun and exciting, but it’s really important too that students consume alcohol responsibly during this period and beyond. Drinking to excess can affect your health and your studies so students should take care of themselves and their friends.”

Tony Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester and Chairman of The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said:

“The effects of excessive alcohol consumption can be felt across all parts of local communities.

The only way to make further progress on alcohol fuelled crime is to work in conjunction with local and national partners. By working together we can bring considerable social benefits to our communities and make a positive impact on crime and reduce the demand on policing.

Alcohol crime often overlaps with health issues so it is important to work closely with local Health and Wellbeing Boards and other health professionals to identify the scale of the problem and take action to reduce misuse.

“There is also a need to find innovative ways to address the adverse effects of the night-time economy and reduce the demand on police responders. Binge drinking blights towns and cities across England and Wales. Police and Crime Commissioners are working to change the culture by working with positive role models such as street pastors who engage with drinkers and offer support to change their ways. Some Commissioners are looking at ‘drunk tanks’ which house inebriated people overnight and allow police officers to deal with other crimes.”

Further Information and sources

People that ‘pre-load’ are 2.5 times more likely to be involved in violence as a victim or an offender- John Moores University

More than half (54%) of students admit they still consume at least double the daily unit guidelines when drinking socially and almost a third (30%) have blacked out or lost their memory due to drinking too much- Drinkaware research 2010.

47% of violent crime is alcohol related – Crime Survey of England & Wales 2011/12

Offenders were believed by victims to be under the influence of alcohol in nearly half of all incidents of

domestic violence- the Government’s alcohol strategy – ‘Safe. Sensible. Social’ (2007)

Alcohol plays a part in 25-33% of known cases of child abuse- Swept under the carpet: Children affected by parental alcohol misuse report 2010

In Focus

The In Focus week is part of a series focussing on issues most important to policing – led the Association of Chief Police Officers. The spotlight will be on a different issue for a week each month, including anti social behaviour, sexual offences and hate crime.

For more information please contact:

ACPO Press Office
Association of Chief Police Officers
e: press.office@acpo.pnn.police.uk