Judges predict escalation of drink-fuelled violent crime
More acts of rape, domestic violence and grievous bodily harm will follow the relaxation of drinking laws later this year, senior judges have predicted.
Council of Circuit Judges – representing 636 circuit judges who oversee crown court cases – warned the Home Office to anticipate an “escalation” of alcohol-related violence when 24-hour drinking laws come into effect.
The government backed the changes to the 90-year-old licensing laws believing the new measures will lead to cultural changes in the way many young Britons spend their Friday and Saturday nights.
But the judges said it was mere “wishful” thinking to assume the Licensing Act would bring about the desired cultural change with people emulating “continental style” drinking practices.
“The situation is already grave, if not grotesque, and to facilitate this by making drinking facilities more widely available is close to lunacy,” said the consultation document sent to the Home Office.
“It simply means that our town and city centres are abandoned every night to pugnacious, drunk, noisy, vomiting louts.”
The judges advised the cost of alcoholic drinks should rise to counterbalance the liberalised licensing laws.
With alcohol-related crime and disorder already blighting British town and city centres, licensing minister James Purnell said the new laws would help tackle drink-fuelled violence.
“We’re bringing in new powers to deal with the trouble-makers, to deal with individual problems and that does mean that we can relax the law for everybody else,” he said.
“The whole point is local communities will be able to decide when pubs close, you have a little bit more liberalisation so that you have more choice for people and the crucial point is that at the moment there aren’t enough powers to deal with alcohol-fuelled violence or problem pubs; you can’t close down a problem pub easily.
“This is a sensible piece of liberalisation. You deal with the troublemakers by bringing in new powers to deal with them, you make it much easier to deal with them and you are wrong to say that at the moment you can do all of those things. Those things only come in with these new powers.”
The new drinking laws will come into effect on November 24th under the Licensing Act.
