Minimum alcohol pricing plea
Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg is calling on the Government to introduce minimum unit pricing immediately, as part of the battle to reduce the harm caused by alcohol misuse. He is also demanding that opposition parties make manifesto commitments to introduce similar legislation.
“It is now time to act.” said Mr Hogg. “The Government has put plans to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol on hold for too long.”
“It must press on and not be deterred by industry interests. Every day that the political parties delay, there are more hospital admissions and more arrests – affecting lives and using up valuable public resources.”
“I am writing to the Prime Minister and the leaders of the Labour and Liberal Democrats seeking their commitment to the earliest possible introduction of meaningful legislation.”
In Devon and Cornwall alone the estimated cost of alcohol fuelled crime and harm is a massive £366m. Policing alcohol fuelled crime puts enormous pressure on our police and healthcare resources and according to Mr Hogg this is simply not sustainable.
“More and more resources are being sucked up into policing alcohol fuelled crime and disorder, and we simply do not have the luxury of allowing this to continue.”
Mr Hogg is describing the Government’s recent action to ban the sale of alcohol below cost is meaningless. He says it will have no impact at all on ‘white cider’. According to guidance issued by the Association of Convenience Stores to its members, 3 litres of 7.5% ABV cider containing 22.5 units of alcohol can be sold for as little as £1.43 under the new rules. That equates to around 6p per unit.
Replying to a letter from Tony Hogg, the Minster for Crime Prevention Norman Baker has admitted to Mr Hogg that the estimated impact of their new flagship measure will be to reduce alcohol related crimes by just 500 per year across the whole country. That is less than 12 crimes per policing area in a whole year.
Compare this to the Government’s own evidence base from 2012 which shows that a minimum unit price of 45p per unit of alcohol could provide an immediate drop in crimes of over 5000 per year (saving £13m), with an estimated fall in hospital admissions of over 4,500 in year one. Sheffield University estimates a longer term reduction after 10 years of 34,000 less crimes and 24,000 less hospital admissions each year.
“We simply cannot afford to delay.” said Mr Hogg. “The introduction of minimum unit pricing is a necessity. Greater action must be taken – through MUP, and by the adoption of tough and meaningful measures. We must protect our citizens and safeguard our public services for the future.”
The availability of cheap alcohol, and the impact on crime, featured in the C4 programmes Dispatches this week. Many of the issues highlighted by the Commissioner were discussed in the programme, including minimum unit pricing and so called ‘pre-loading.’
“I thought the programme was very timely, and I am pleased that this debate has been aired nationally.” said Tony Hogg
I was delighted to see that Dr Adrian Barton from Plymouth University, who I have worked closely with, was interviewed about the major impact that ‘pre-loading’ has on our drinking culture.”
“The programme also clearly demonstrated the dramatic effect that minimum unit pricing would have on cutting the volume of alcohol that young people would be able to purchase.”
“I urge people to watch this Dispatches programme through the C4 catch-up service. It mirrors my views in many ways. I believe the public agree with me that tackling alcohol fuelled crime and disorder must be a major priority in Devon and Cornwall and I want to work with them to find solutions.”
