Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Area

Title: Liquor licensing and public disorder: review of literature on the impact of licensing and other controls / audit of local initiatives
Author: Reid Howey Associates Ltd
Series: Scottish Executive Social Research 2003
Number of pages: 95
Date published: February 2003

The Nicholson Committee is currently carrying out a review of liquor licensing in Scotland. During the period of its operation, the Committee has a remit to:

"review all aspects of liquor licensing law and practice in Scotland, with particular reference to the implications for health and public disorder; to recommend changes in the public interest and to report accordingly".

The research had two purposes:

• To review existing literature relating to initiatives which undertake to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder.

• To carry out an audit of existing initiatives in Scotland which aim to tackle alcohol-related disorder.

The review focuses primarily on:

• Initiatives to control the availability of alcohol through licensing (including, for example, the imposition of conditions upon licenses, work to address opening hours or other aspects of the sale of alcohol)

• Regulation of aspects of consumption, initiatives to tackle specific groups or crimes and the enforcement of existing law (including, for example, drinking in certain locations, underage drinking, drink driving, etc)

• Regulation of the environment / context of alcohol consumption (including, for example, staff training and registration, use of toughened glass and design changes.)

There is evidence that the age at which young people can buy and consume alcohol on licensed premises has an impact upon juvenile crime. It has been suggested that lowering the legal drinking age can raise the levels of male juvenile crime, and raising the age can, for example, reduce alcohol-related car crashes and fatalities. Some studies also suggest, however, that lowering the age at which people can buy and drink alcohol on licensed premises can reduce the likelihood of young people drinking in unsafe and unsupervised locations.

There is evidence of a link between the number of outlets in an area and the levels of alcohol-related problems, and there is data to suggest that limitation of numbers may have an impact on alleviating problems. There is also some evidence that different types of outlet may experience different levels and types of alcohol-related crime / disorder. Some areas also noted that they considered outlet density when new licenses were granted.

In terms of issues which are outwith the remit of the legislation in Scotland, the report also notes that there is currently a lack of evidence regarding the impact of alcohol advertising on alcohol-related harm. There is, however, perceived to be a link between alcohol price and consumption, but little direct evidence (with the exception of one study) of the impact of this upon alcohol-related crime and disorder.

High profile policing around some licensed premises has also been associated with a reduction in arrests and crime rates, and it has been suggested that the enforcement of the law relating to serving alcohol to people who are intoxicated may also impact on crime and disorder. A number of initiatives were also reported in Scotland as targeting specific areas which were seen to be "hotspots".

There was also some evidence in the literature review to support the value of community enforcement programmes. It was suggested, however, that the effect of these may not be sustained in the longer term, and that there may be a need for them to be combined with more formal measures.

The research found considerable material relating to "Pubwatch" schemes and these appear to have had some success in the reduction of alcohol-related disorder, sometimes being used alongside other measures (for example, the dissemination of information, use of exclusion orders and use of CCTV). A number of examples of Pubwatch schemes were found across Scotland. In one example of an area where licensees had a direct radio link to CCTV operators, there was a general perception that there had been a reduction in crime and an increase in public safety with these schemes.

See the full report, "Liquor licensing and public disorder: review of literature on the impact of licensing and other controls / audit of local initiatives" on the Scottish Executive's website.

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