Alcohol and Crime

The World Health Organisation’s European Charter on Alcohol states:

“All people have the right to a family, community and working life protected from accidents, violence and other negative consequences of alcohol consumption.”

The WHO Charter has been signed by Member States of the European Union, including the UK.

Introduction

Alcohol is associated with a wide range of criminal offences in addition to offences of drink driving and drunkenness, in which drinking or excessive drinking define the offence.  Alcohol-related crime is a matter of great public concern.  In England and Wales, approximately 70% of crime audits published in 1998 and 1999 identified alcohol as an issue, particularly in relation to public disorder.

The term ‘alcohol-related crime’ normally refers to offences:-

• involving a combination of criminal damage offences, drunk and disorderly and other public order offences
• involving young males, typically 18-30
• occurring in the entertainment areas of town and city centre

However, a range of offences are linked to alcohol that do not necessarily occur in the context of the night-time economy.

In 1997 Jack Straw, the then Shadow Home Secretary, pledged a new labour Government to ‘call-time’ on drunken thugs.  He said:

“Every year, there are almost 1.5 million victims of violent attacks committed by people under the influence of drink (excluding domestic violence).  Every weekend, people avoid their town and city centres for fear that they will be attacked or intimidated by drunken youths.”

Subsequently the Labour Government introduced a package of measure to deal with alcohol-related crime, culminating in 2004 with the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England.  The Government also introduced the Licensing Act 2003.

In advance to the launch of the new strategy, the Home Office produced an Action Plan ‘Tackling alcohol-related crime, disorder and nuisance’.  The plan identifies objectives and priorities for taking forward the programme of work to address the problem of alcohol-related crime and disorder.  The three key objectives are:

• to reduce the problems arising from under-age drinking;
• to reduce public drunkenness, and associated criminal and disorderly behaviour;
• to prevent alcohol-related violence.

The plan sets out the key actions that are being taken to address these objectives.  In addition, there is a joint, cross-departmental target to reduce the level of alcohol-related crime such that the level in 2005/06 is lower than in 2001/02.

Two targets have been set
(i)         to reduce the incident rate of alcohol-related violent crime and
(ii)        to reduce the percentage of the population who perceived drunken and rowdy behaviour to be a problem in their locality.

These will be measured by the British Crime Survey

Scale of the Problem

The Police Superintendents have advised that alcohol is present in half of all crime.  A 1990 study for the Home Office found that growth in beer consumption was the single most important factor in explaining growth in crimes of violence against the person.  Research also shows that high proportions of victims of violent crime are drinking or inder the influence of alcohol at the time of their assault.  In an analysis of data drawn from 41 System Data Evaluation and Analysis Team found that:

• over one-third (37%) of offenders had a current problem with alcohol use
• a similar proportion (37%) had a problem with binge drinking
• nearly half (47%) had misused alcohol in the past
• 32% had violent behaviour related to their alcohol use
• 38% were found to have a criminogenic need relating to alcohol misuse, potentially linked to their risk of reconviction

Research has found that alcohol has been consumed prior to the offence in nearly three-quarters (73%) of domestic violence cases and a ‘feature’ in almost two-thirds (62%).  Furthermore, almost half (48%) of these convicted domestic violence offenders were alcohol dependant.

A minimum of 1 in 5 people arrested by police test positive for alcohol.  An All Party Group of MP’s  investigating alcohol and crime was advised by the British Medical Association that alcohol is a factor in:

• 60-70% of homicides
• 75% of stabbings
• 70% of beatings
• 50% of fights and domestic assaults

Trends

The picture is confused by the fact that different sources of information suggest different conclusions.  Police figures can seriously underestimate the amount of violent crime actually taking place.  Less that a quarter of violent offences resulting in treatment at Accident and Emergency Departments are reported to police.  Police figures can also give a false picture of the direction of trends.  While police figures show violent crime continuing to increase over recent years, the British Crime Survey (BCS) – a large scale survey asking people about their experience of victimisation – suggests that violent crime peaked in 1995 and has since declined, albeit to levels that remain very high by historical standards.

In relation to crime in general, the BCS is thought to underestimate the actual amount of crime taking place because it excludes drug offences, sexual assaults, murders, fraud and crimes against people aged under 16.