SCOTLAND is a society soaked in alcohol, but a new study has shown that some parts of the country are more saturated than others – and where that is the case, crime rates are higher. Research by Alcohol Focus Scotland, in conjunction with the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, reveals that crime rates were more than four times greater in neighbourhoods with the most alcohol outlets compared to those with the least. That was for Scotland as a whole. In some areas – such as Aberdeen, South Ayrshire and Moray – the rate was almost eight times higher. Similarly, alcohol-related deaths were double where outlets were most prevalent (five times higher in Dundee City and East Ayrshire), and alcohol-related hospitalisations were also almost twice as high (four times greater in Argyll and Bute).
The message is clear: in some areas more than others, people are being positively encouraged to drink. They are subjected to more marketing and more normalisation of the product, to a ubiquitous temptation which – when risked too frequently – not only leads to abnormalities in their health but to an increase in crime, so often the disastrous companion to alcohol abuse. The effect of this on our hospital and police services is well known and, where these are put under greater pressure, the impact hits us all. Today, most drinking in Scotland is done at home, with bottles of pleasurable poison bought from off-sales, including supermarkets and their “express” outlets. There are 40 per cent more alcohol outlets in the most deprived neighbourhoods, and 90 per cent more off-sales in particular.
Bearing that in mind, it is salutary to learn from the study that, in 2016-17, local licensing boards approved 97 per cent of applications for new premises’ licences. Bearing in mind also the link made here between availability and crime, this at least indicates an area where action might be taken.
Licensing boards, which are due to publish their new policies in November, can use the information provided in this study to stop over-provision in areas where this is a proven concern. They cannot undo what is already done, but they can prevent further increases, and it may be that in the new annual reports they must produce from next year, there will be an onus to prove that they have been active in this direction.
Licensing objectives – set out in law – include preventing crime, disorder and public nuisance. Since all of these are frequently linked to alcohol, then an increasingly judicious approach to the granting of licences would be helpful.
Minimum unit pricing brought in by the Scottish Government doubtless will save lives. It was a welcome first step in the battle against alcohol abuse. Now, as Alcohol Focus Scotland has advocated, the next step must be to prevent further increases in alcohol availability. This could involve investigating how to limit alcohol provision per postcode, so to speak, and even to consider taking action against retailers who flood poor areas in particular with drink.
Most of us might acknowledge that drink in moderation is one of life’s joys. But, when overdone, the consequences on health are deleterious. In addition, where it is concentrated in areas that have enough problems already, crime can be the result.
The trouble isn’t just that alcohol is everywhere in Scotland. It is that, in some places, it is all but poured down people’s throats. Everyone has a choice, of course, but the constant temptation, even exhortation, in some areas makes it easier for an occasional pleasure to become too prevalent in people’s lives, with disastrous consequences. That this results in crime where alcohol outlets are more prevalent is an extremely serious finding, and one that national legislators and local licensing boards will do well to consider when drawing up policies.
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