CHEAP drink promotions could be outlawed in a crackdown on binge boozing. And landlords are being warned that licences will be at risk if they ignore a voluntary ban on them.
The Home Department is worried because alcohol remains a significant law-enforcement problem - it was a factor in 42% of all arrests in Guernsey in 2007.
And it probably plays a part in many crimes that do not lead to arrests.
‘Some of the criminal damage in the island could easily have been done while people are under the influence of alcohol,’ said Home minister Geoff Mahy.
‘Binge drinking is a problem and the department is monitoring very closely the operation of licensed premises, particularly in St Peter Port.
‘And we have, through the Guernsey Licensed Victuallers’ Association, agreed that special promotions such as two drinks for the price of one or a fixed price for as much as you can drink are no longer encouraged.
‘We have written to licensed premises that may have done this over the last couple of years saying that it could affect the renewal of their licence if they continued.’
The island is not experiencing the same growth in public drunkenness as the UK.
‘While excessive drinking by a significant number of people is undoubtedly a factor in most instances of antisocial behaviour, we have not experienced the reported rise in prosecutions experienced in the UK in the past two years,’ said Ian Morellec, police chief superintendent of operations.
There, prosecutions of young people for being drunk and disorderly have soared by nearly a third, reinforcing calls by police and health groups to make the legal drinking age 21.
But that is not a topic that has even been considered by Guernsey Police senior management.
‘If 24-hour drinking is considered a cause of the problems, then one would think they would rein back on the hours before they consider raising the legal age limit,’ said Chief Supt Morellec.
Increasing numbers of under-18s in the UK are being taken to court or being given fixed-penalty notices for being drunk and disorderly.
Chief Supt Morellec did not consider issuing tickets the right way to deal with most of the drunk and disorderly incidents faced by the local force.
‘It leads to a lessening of standards,’ he said.
He wondered whether islanders thought people shown in fly-on-the-wall UK police documentaries were let off too lightly.
‘The wider Guernsey community has high standards.
‘It cares what goes on in its streets and is protective of the island’s reputation,’ he said.
‘The courts take an equally supportive and robust stance in such cases.
‘We should not drop the bar.’
Article posted on 2nd January, 2008 - 12.00am
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