ALCOHOL AWARENESS WEEK 3RD JULY - 9TH JULY
3/4 of police respondents and half of ambulance respondents had been injured in alcohol related incidents.
1/3 - 1/2 service people have suffered sexual harassment or abuse at the hands of intoxicated members of the public.
Reforms:
- Alcohol treatment centres
- Delivery of identification and brief advice
- Lower drink drive limit
- Improving information shared amongst emergency departments, police services and local authorities
- Assertive use of licensing powers by local authorities
Reduce the affordability of alcohol
Police Force:
Alcohol places a significant strain on the police force. Over 50% of police workload is alcohol-related. 90% of police believe violent crimes such as assault and domestic violence are significantly affected by alcohol.
76% of police have been injured by drunken perpetrators, 65% on multiple occasions. 41% of the police have been sexually harassed by drunken people.
The police support stricter regulation of licensing and pricing to address these issues. 9/10 believe licensed establishments should be charged to fund additional late-night policing. Policies to reduce affordability such as higher taxes and minimum unit price.
Ambulance Service:
Alcohol is a leading cause of ambulance call outs. 37% of ambulance time is estimate to be spent of alcohol-related incidents.
Most ambulance staff believe they are at risk of harm in the line of duty. 96% have been threatened or verbally abused by drunken members of the public. 50% have been injured in the field. 54% feel unsafe in their own ambulance.
Many feel ill-equipped to deal with intoxicated individuals. 50% believe that they lack the relevant training. A significant proportion of ambulance service workers support tougher NHS policies on intoxication. 76% favour charging users for callouts resulting from their own intoxication.
Hospital emergency departments see patients with alcohol related injuries and frequently used to assess relationship between alcohol assumption and injury risk. Government should develop, implement and promote strategy, engaging all appropriate government department. Deliver alcohol awareness training and support emergency service personnel, adequate wellbeing and mental health.
Alcohol places significant and unnecessary burden on emergency services. Frontline staff systematically subjected to alcohol-fuelled abuse and harassment. Evidence shows policy options exist to reduce burdens, tackling cheap drink and earlier closing time.
Until the next Legal Thought,
Elicia Maxwell
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