Alcohol-Related Violence in Sydney
Answer:
While responding to the widely publicized reports regarding alcohol-related violence in Sydney, particularly in Kings Cross area, a package of reforms was announced by the NSW government which was passed into legislation on 30th Jan, 2014. The most significant among these measures is the creation of a new entertainment 'precinct' where special alcohol licensing conditions will apply. Some of these measures will also apply to the present King's Cross presinct that was created under earlier legislation. Apart fr
om these precinct specific conditions, this package also introduced a ban on take away alcohol sales after 10 pm and it applied to both the shops, clubs and hotels. These provisions have been in effect since 24 February, 2014. In this regard, it has been claimed by the police that the number of savage assaults in the popular nightspots of Sydney have dropped significantly after the introduction of lockout laws. At the same time, it has also been claimed that there is no evidence to suggest that the problem has moved elsewhere (Roth, 2014). However, according to the data collected by the city of Sydney, it may be the result of lesser people partying in Kings Cross and CBD. On the other hand, the police claims that there was a feeling that a positive shift has taken place towards a safer environment. In this regard, the police claim that after the six months of these laws coming into force, only two incidents were reported related with assault causing grievous bodily harm. On the other hand, during the same period in the earlier year, the number of such incidents was 22 (Pilgrim, Gerostamoulos, and Drummer, 2014).
During this period, police issued nearly 350 banning orders for Kings Cross. Out of these banning orders, most were short-term orders however, a few were long-term also. The banning orders allowed the police to apply for the removal of a person from Kings Cross percent for up to a year if such person has been convicted of a serious alcohol-related offense in the past. In this way, the police feel that encouraging signs are present to suggest a reduction in intoxication. These lock-out laws were introduced to deal with violence that is related with alcohol after the one punch death of Daniel Christie and Thomas Kelly. According to these laws, the licensed premises in Kings Cross and CBD are required to lockout patrons from 1:30 am and similarly these premises are also required to stop serving alcohol after 3 am (Plunk, 2013).
In this matter, it is acknowledged by the police that there were less than people on the streets at night and it has also contributed in a decrease in assaults. In the same way, the research conducted by the city of Sydney on six Saturday nights in March and April revealed that the foot part congestion was less by 84% to 78% in some areas as compared to the level in December 2012. On the basis of CCTV footage and observations by the officers of the Council, it was found that they were lesser people on the streets and at the same time, lesser incidence in the CBD. As a result, concerns have been raised that some businesses may have been forced to close down or struggling to survive after the introduction of these laws (Morgan and McAtamney 2009).
As a result, there has been a call for the review of these measures after one year instead of conducting such a review after two years. It has also been argued by the clubs and pubs that these laws can move the alcohol-related violence to areas that are outside the lockout zone. However in this regard, the police claim that although a slight increase in the crowds in these areas has been reported, but there has been no increase in alcohol-related violence in these areas.
At the same time, the staff from the hospital in the area informed that a significant decrease has taken place in case of alcohol related presentations at the hospital. However, it still requires to be examined if 'displacement' of violence related with alcohol was an issue. In this regard, some experts believe that it is too soon to evaluate the success of these laws, particularly due to the reason that generally the rate of assault drops after its peak in January. Therefore, it may be too early to evaluate the decrease and data for some more months may be required (Laing, Sendall and Barker, 2013).
On the other hand, the Australian Hotels Association, NSW believes that the government may have "moved too quickly" in this matter. It is also claimed by them that too many regulations have been imposed by the government at once and as a result, it is not possible to point out which regulations have been more effective as compared to the others. In the same way, the decision to ban take away liquor sales after 10 pm has also been criticized on the grounds that the pubs and farmers in the country areas have become the 'unintended victims' of the policy (Laslett, 2010).
As a result, it can be recommended in the present case that these measures need to be implemented throughout the State. By not doing so, artificial and problematic flow of people may be created towards other entertainment districts which are not well equipped to deal with the late-night patrons. On the other hand, if these measures are implemented throughout the state, people will be going out earlier, instead of going elsewhere and at the same time, it will also ensure that the overall revenue remains the same.
References
Laing, A.J., M.C. Sendall, and R. Barker, 2013, ‘Alcohol-related violence presenting to the emergency department: is 'glassing' the big issue?’, Emerg Med Australas, 25(6): p. 550-7
Laslett, A. et al 2010, The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol’s Harm to Others, Fitzroy, Victoria: AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Eastern Health, p. 63
Morgan, A. and A. McAtamney 2009, ‘Key issues in alcohol-related violence’, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra
Pilgrim, J.L., D. Gerostamoulos, and O.H. Drummer, 2014, ‘"King hit" fatalities in Australia, 2000-2012: the role of alcohol and other drugs’, Drug Alcohol Depend, 135: p. 119-32
Plunk, A. 2013, ‘The Persistent Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Age Laws on Drinking Patterns Later in Life’, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Volume 37, Issue 3, pages 463–469
Roth, L. 2014, ‘Liquor licensing restrictions to address alcohol-related violence in NSW: 2008 to 2014’, NSW Parliamentary Research Service
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