Outline
The consumption of drugs in contemporary societies has led to great effects which have been witnessed in those consuming the drugs as well to entire contemporary societies. Among those societies that have been affected by drug usage is Australia, where its main concern is on alcohol consumption. In Australia, irresponsible alcohol consumption has been found to cause violent crime which has been considered to be as a result of several other influencing factors other than regular alcohol consumption.
The increase in the number of venues in which alcohol is sold has been a major factor of influence since it has provided large amounts of liquor in the market at lower prices due to existing competition levels. Relaxation of laws governing licensing of alcohol trading venues has supported violent crime associated with public drunkenness, since licensees do not find it necessary to follow their regulations, since nothing is done to those who are caught breaking laws regarding alcohol trading. Hours during which alcohol is traded have also been extended, which equally contributes to increased instances of violent crime due to alcohol consumption. Those venues that operate for considerably longer periods register higher numbers of violent crimes committed by drunken persons during the extended time, than those venues that close by the time specified in license requirements.
Violent Crime Associated With Public Drunkeness Is “Not Just An Alcohol Problem”
Introduction
Australian states have registered an increased rate of antisocial and violent behaviour that is mostly related to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption does not just make someone to become violent, but this happens only when it is taken in excess amount. Alcohol consumption reduces the rate in which the nervous system performs its activities and when it is overly consumed, it affects coordination in speech, reactions as well as concentration. This results to aggressive behaviour such as violent crime, which is the situation being experienced in Australia due to increased consumption. It is predicted that, Australian society is in a situation where alcohol has produced violent social conditions which are unsafe to members of the society. This violent behaviour due to alcohol has been found to affect the entire society as drunken Australians indulge in criminal activities like rape and burglary. Eckersley (2005 pp 45-47)
Further research has revealed that, violent crime resulting from alcohol consumption is closely associated to moderate consumption rather than heavy alcohol consumption. For instance, a study conducted in 1997 by an Australian research firm campaigning against drug abuse showed that, about forty nine percent of those deaths that were related to alcohol consumption were caused by acute drinking and not chronic alcohol consumption. This shows that, the largest percentage of alcohol consumers who engage in violent crime are not habitual drinkers but occasional consumers of alcohol. This is considered an essential aspect of public health affecting not only alcohol consumers but the entire Australian society. The Australian government has not taken this issue lightly as they have considered it among the areas of discussion in parliamentary sessions. In 2004, the licensing of alcohol consumption was among the policies put forward for review by Australian jurisdictions, which resulted to heated debate in both the political as well as public arena. It was argued that, several jurisdictions had ignored the anticompetitive elements associated with licensing of alcohol consumption. Stockwell (1996 pp 7-15)
Australian Council Concerned With Drugs Particularly Alcohol
This is the most influential council in Australia regarding the consumption of drugs and it particularly deals with alcohol. This council serves as the overall national voice representing those other Australian societies that work towards reduction of harm resulting from drugs specifically alcohol. This council incorporates various parties in its campaigns among them being community, government, business as well as non-government sectors. Diverse operations of this Australian council have made it clear that alcohol is a unique commodity. Alcohol is categorized as a drug which can lead to disability or even death when it is misused. These adverse effects of alcohol are put in the second place after tobacco use in the category of preventable usage of drug that can lead to death when misused.
Extensive research has revealed that alcohol consumption rates as well as resultant effects increase with increase in availability of cheap alcohol in the community. This is the same thing that is happening in Australia where production of cheap liquor is on the increase which has rendered it inappropriate to regard its restrictions in a similar manner in which other commodities are regulated. It treats sale of alcohol differently by fixing strict regulations on its consumption policies in order to reduce situations where alcohol consumption is misused. However, policies by this council do not specify a situation where strict regulation should be imposed on establishments trading alcohol. Hence, the council has been found to be deficient of reducing violent crime due to alcohol consumption since it has the power to do so. Various other areas have been given extensive and intensive consideration in order to show that violent crime associated with alcohol consumption is not only caused by regular alcohol consumption but also by other additional factors related to alcohol trading Scribner (1999 pp 310-316). They include;
Drinking Patterns Experienced In Australia
Findings of a study that was carried out in 2001 by the Australian Welfare Institute revealed that about ninety percent of young people from the age of fourteen years have been engaged in alcohol consumption at a particular time while about eighty two percent of them had consumed alcohol one year prior to the study. The study also found out that fifty two percent of those who had consumed alcohol had been involved in some sort of violent crimes whereby some were minor like initiating fights while others were major like burglary and looting. Alcohol consumption patterns experienced in Australia are such that males normally engage themselves in alcohol consumption long before females begin to consume alcohol. This pattern flows to the risks associated with alcohol consumption where young people especially under aged persons, become unable to control their behaviour once they get drunk and end up engaging in violent crime. However, this changes at adolescence where Australian females are found to engage in risky alcohol consumption that results to violent actions more than male adolescents. These patterns have been functional in Australia for quite some time which has encouraged consumers to uphold alcohol consumption at very young ages. Young Australians are therefore exposed to great harm especially girls whose drunken situations incite older men to harass them sexually which is a form of violent crime due to alcohol consumption. Shand (2004 pp 38-42)
Parenting Impact to Alcohol Consumption and Associated Violent Behaviour
This is another factor that has contributed to violent crime resulting from alcohol consumption. The exercise of parenting by Australian parents, caretakers as well as guardians has undergone considerable changes since most guardians and parents fear that their children might follow the same trend of engaging in violent crime. Two categories of parents have evolved with one being comprised of “helicopter parents” that get over protective to their children. This increased concern is mostly directed towards children’s safety protecting them from being exposed to risky situations associated with alcohol consumption. As a result, children become quite ignorant concerning the manner in which risky situations as well as public spaces should be handled and when they grow up they tend to misuse acquired freedom by engaging in irresponsible drinking. Since these persons are not experienced on the manner in which public spaces should be handled they tend to become violent after getting intoxicated.
The other category of parents is characterized by negligence on the part of guardians and parents who do not provide their children with education and basic needs as expected which make the children to seek alternative sources of comfort which in this case happens to be alcohol consumption. Recent alcohol consumption trends in Australian society have contributed to the situation where young people regard violent behaviour and crime as the common behaviour where they fail to portray empathy to those people they threaten. The trend have also made young Australians to lack respect while dealing with human body which makes them to consume alcohol to a point that they fail to recognize that human body is very delicate and violent criminal behaviour can result to someone’s death. This shows that violent crime associated with alcohol consumption does not only expose Australian society to instances of physical hazard but also to moral degradation which raises a wide range of concern. Rydon (1993 pp 339-345)
Trading Hours
Studies that have been carried out in Australia have revealed that increased hours of trading in venues that sell alcohol equally contribute to violent crime due to public drunkenness. A different study carried out in the night clubs of Australia in nineteen ninety found out that those clubs where trading of alcohol was extended to very late in the night registered more instances of night assaults which was associated with high intoxication levels experienced in Australians who consumed alcohol those clubs. These particular findings got more reinforcement from a collection of reports in a Western Australian police station which had been accumulated from the year nineteen ninety to nineteen ninety seven.
Since results from the various researches gave similar findings researchers came to a conclusion that alcohol trading for long hours was closely associated with high alcohol consumption levels that in turn led to violent crime in Australian hotels during the time these studies were being carried out. Trading permits that allowed alcohol traders to operate until very late in the night were also found to make a considerable contribution to the high levels of violent crime associated with public drunkenness. This finding was from an evaluation on safety impact as well as a measure of the level at which public members were safe while consuming alcohol until very late in Australian night clubs. It was found out that those night clubs that operated for longer hours registered more assaults than those that traded for regular hours. Therefore, violent crime associated with public drunkenness in Australia is not only caused by regular alcohol consumption but also instances where Australian night clubs are allowed to operate for longer hours providing a good opportunity for crime commission. Edwards (2001 pp 62-86)
Increased Variety of Establishments
This is yet another factor that has contributed to violent crime due to public drunkenness since venues in which alcohol is traded has increased in number as well as in type. Alcohol trading is no longer restricted to pubs but has been extended to hotels and supermarkets where it is sold in packs to be consumed elsewhere. This has been explained as a consequence of the situation where regulations that give trading licenses to these Australian establishments have been overly relaxed. Further evidence from those Australian authorities that provide trading licenses show that increased alcohol consumption that leads to violent crime has received great influence from competitiveness experienced among licensed venues. Increased levels of competition have led to situations where some venues practice irresponsible trading by allowing under aged Australians to consume alcohol as well as those adults who are already intoxicated. These irresponsible measures are very dangerous to alcohol consumers and Australian society at large since when under aged persons take alcohol they loose coordination and control especially due to their immaturity which leads them to engage in criminal activities without having a second thought of consequences of their criminal behaviour. Homel (2008 pp 29-36)
The availability of more alcohol trading establishments in Australia has made some venues to offer considerably favourable discounts on alcohol prices which have served as a great incentive to alcohol consumers who are able to get more liquor at lower prices. This has equally contributed to violent crime since those Australians who consume alcohol at lower prices become intoxicated to a level that they can no longer control themselves and engage in irresponsible behaviour which sometimes happens without their knowledge. A study conducted in Finland in the year two thousand and three showed that the level of alcohol consumption as well as associated violent crimes were found to rise by five percent when groceries were permitted to sell alcohol since it was quite easy to acquire license for restaurants than for night clubs. During this particular time, those establishments that sold alcohol in packs to be consumed elsewhere increased from one hundred and forty to about seven thousand while those venues that sold alcohol and at the same time provided customers with a place to consume it rose from nine hundred to about four thousand. The increased number of alcohol trading outlets was found to have a forty six percent level of association with overall violent crime due to alcohol consumption. As a result, the number of Australians who were arrested for getting involved in irresponsible alcohol consumption as well as associated violent behaviour was reported to increase with men taking eighty percent of arrests while women’s representation was one hundred and sixty percent. Roth (1994 pp 67-98)
Homicide level which is a form of violent crimes committed by drunken people was found to increase in specific places in Australia where alcohol trading outlets had increased in number. A study in which this observation was realized took place in nineteen ninety four through nineteen ninety five where measurements were carried out in terms of the number of people who visited a single outlet among available outlets in a single square mile. It was realized that, there was a strong connection between existing homicide rates and geographical location of alcohol trading outlets. Neighbourhoods that were densely populated with alcohol trading outlets registered increased homicide commission rates at a time when other possible causal factors like social disintegration were put under control. It is suggested that, cases of violent crime caused by increased alcohol trading venues can be reduced by imposition of strict regulations concerning of licensing of venues trading alcohol. Grabosky (2005 pp 46-53)
Normalization of Alcohol Consumption in Australia
Oberklaid (2005 pp26-32), argues that, normalization is condition where Australians consider alcohol consumption as a normal practice and therefore being drunk does not raise an alarm. As noted earlier; alcohol consumption is integrated in the culture of Australians which makes it to be on the lead among drugs consumed in Australia. More so, the greatest percentage of alcohol consumption experienced in Australia is normally in such a manner that alcohol consumers become exposed to instances of violent crime. Australian health commentators have warned that encouragement of alcohol consumption that leads to commission of violent crimes by increased licensing of alcohol trading venues could increase the number deaths in Australia due to irresponsible alcohol consumption. A research finding that supports this argument found out that normalization of alcohol consumption plays a bigger part in violent crime associated with public drunkenness than extensive availability of liquor in Australian society. This is because higher levels of free availability of alcohol has been experienced in Europe but it has not led to high rates of violent crime as it is the case with Australia showing that the integration of alcohol consumption in the culture of Australia greatly influences violent criminal behaviour. Higgins (2000 pp 49-54)
Enforcement of Licensing
Laws governing licensing of alcohol trading venues in Australia have been found to vary where different jurisdictions provide different laws. However, there is a close connection between their constituent requirements as they specify on the type of people to whom alcohol should be sold, operation hours of venues that are licensed, the manner in which traders should serve alcohol which is in this case should be responsible as well as provision of adequate security measures. Concerns have been expressed by Australian advocates of public health which argue that the available laws regarding licensing of alcohol trading venues provide minimal incentives to those licensed to stick to their requirements. On the contrary they provide more incentives encouraging licensees to go against license requirements.
Among the license requirements that have been defied include a situation where alcohol is sold to underage persons as well as those who are already intoxicated. Another one is where traders fail to observe trading hours as specified by license requirements. Since late hours have between cited as the most appropriate time for crime commission, those people who consume alcohol until very late are found to engage in violent crimes after they have become drunk. Licensees have also failed to put in place appropriate security measures within their premises which incite alcohol consumers to commit crime since there is no one to discipline them. Little effort of penalization to licensees who allow this to happen in their premises is accorded which encourages Australians to increase their engagement in liquor consumption which in turn leads to commission of violent crimes. Schuerman (2003 pp 92-117)
Conclusion
Research has shown that, violent crime that is associated with public drunkenness in Australia is not only caused by regular alcohol consumption but also by other factors that accompany alcohol trading. Among the other factors include laws that govern allocation of licenses to alcohol trading venues where a high level of reluctance is experienced. Although allocated licenses outline requirements that are supposed to regulate violent crime due to alcohol consumption, those who enforce the laws do not follow them up to ensure that they are obeyed. In other cases, action is not taken to discipline those licensees who are caught defying these laws which encourage them to break it even more.
This flows to alcohol consumers who engage in irresponsible alcohol consumption that leads to commission of violent crime. Other factors are normalization of alcohol consumption in Australia, increased variety of alcohol trading venues, extended hours during which alcohol is traded as well as drinking patterns experienced among Australian alcohol consumers. Normalization of alcohol consumption in Australia contributes to violent crime by encouraging Australians to consume alcohol, since it is accepted by their culture. Increased variety of establishments in which alcohol is sold lead to competition. These make alcohol traders to reduce their prices considerably to a level that is affordable to majority of alcohol consumers. It is widely recommended that, Australian government should review these incentives to commission of violent crime associated with public drunkenness in order to reduce their effects in the entire Australian society. Skogan (2008 pp 58-64)
References
Cowell, D 2001, ‘Crime prevention’, SAGE, pp 62-86.
Eckersley, R 2005, ‘Morality, meaning and happiness’, Text Publishing, pp 45-47.
Edwards, G 2006, ‘Alcohol policy and the public good’, Oxford University Press, pp 14-17.
Grabosky, P 2005, ‘Crime and delinquency in Australia’, Australian National University Press, pp 46-53.
Higgins, K 2000, ‘A statistical profile of Crime in Australia’, ICS Press, 2000, pp 49-54.
Homel, K. 2008, ‘Preventing aggression in and around bars, clubs and pubs’, William Publishing, pp 29-36.
Oberklaid, F 2005, ‘Patterns and Precursors of adolescent antisocial behaviour’, Melbourne Publishing, pp 26-32.
Roth, J 1994, ‘understanding and preventing violence’, National Academy Press, pp 67-98.
Rydon, P 1993, ‘Blood alcohol levels of patrons leaving licensed premises in Perth, Western Australia’, Federation Press, pp 339-345.
Schuerman, L 2003, ‘Communities and Crime’, University of Chicago Press, pp 92-117.
Scribner, R 1999, ‘Alcohol availability and homicide in Australian states’, S & Allen publishers, pp 310-316.
Shand, F 2004, ‘The treatment of alcohol problems’, Elsevier, pp 38-42.
Skogan, W 2008, ‘Disorder and decline’, The Free Press, pp 58-64.
Stockwell, T 1996, ‘unravelling the preventive paradox for acute alcohol problems’, Guilford publishers, pp 7-15.