It's time to get tough on under-age drinking

SNP proposals for tougher action to tackle under-age drinking were discussed when I met community police officers in Edinburgh last week.

I was joined by Shadow Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill MSP, and Shadow Health Minister Shona Robison MSP on a visit to Craigmillar police station to speak to community police officers about the impact of cheap alcohol on crime, health and anti-social behaviour – as well as positive measures to tackle the problem of under-age drinking.

We then accompanied those police officers on a tour of areas in the east of the city particularly blighted by the effects of anti-social behaviour.

A recent comparison of recorded crimes of vandalism, reckless damage and malicious mischief between the years of 1996-7 and 2005-6 reveals an increase of 18% in Aberdeenshire, which is bad enough – but in Edinburgh City that statistic rises to 71%. So much for a government that pledged to be 'tough on crime, and tough on the causes of crime'!

For many communities the biggest problems relate to excessive drinking on the streets and not the more regulated alcohol consumption in local bars and, like them, Craigmillar also suffers from the scourge of under-age gangs of youths roaming the streets and gathering for illicit drinking sessions at known meeting places.

Quite frequently, the areas around these places are easily identified by a plethora of vandalism and graffiti, and become recognized as regular 'hot-spots' of anti-social behaviour. In all, the Home Office estimates that 40% of violent crime, 78% of assaults and 88% of criminal damage offences were committed when the offender was under the influence of alcohol.

Such gatherings also act as a magnet for unscrupulous drug dealers. Very few youngsters would deliberately set out with the intention of becoming heroin addicts, but tragically, many will encounter drugs for the first time as a result of their participation in the culture of under-age drinking.

But if we are to brand the behaviour of these young people as 'irresponsible' we must also look at those who are responsible, and the SNP will hit hard on off-licences that sell to, and on adults who buy for, under-18s.

Too many parents also adopt a casual attitude toward the consumption of alco-pops, and in some cases have knowingly supplied them to their own children.

There are no acceptable excuses for the sale or supply of alcohol to young Scots. Under our proposals, the sale of alcohol to under-age Scots will result in the loss of a premises' licence – and buying alcohol for under-18s will lead to prosecution.

A recent analysis published by the Office for National Statistics shows that in Scotland the alcohol-related death rates for males and females were around double the rates for the UK as a whole in 2002-2004.

It is a national tragedy and I want to make it more difficult for under-age Scots to get access to this cheap drink. Irresponsible drinks promotions in pubs and clubs are to be outlawed via national licence conditions set by central government – yet no such action is being taken with regard to the off-licence trade, and, in particular, dealing with the deep discounting by supermarkets.

This anomaly will be rectified by the SNP using the powers granted to them to set new national licence conditions for the off trade – with the aim of clamping down on irresponsible sale of alcohol, and freeing Scottish communities from the blight of alcohol-fuelled crime and anti-social behaviour.

Once again, our local communities face their biggest challenges – not from the heightened threat of global terrorism which has preoccupied the Prime Minister since he embarked on his vain-glorious crusade in the Middle East – but here, in our own society. Concrete action is needed in this area if the damage alcohol does to our society is to be reversed.

That is why Scotland needs investment in more effective community policing – not wasted on the uncertain technology of high-tech ID cards.

It's time to tackle Scotland's binge drinking culture – which is why the SNP will fully support measures to extend the alcohol test-purchasing pilot to clamp down on under-age drinking, and will implement tougher measures to turn this distressing situation around.

Banffshire Journal