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Tackling Alcohol-related Offences and Disorder in New Zealand

Date of publication: Nov 2002
*Paul Marriott-Lloyd, BA(Hons), MIR; Mike Webb, BA(Hons), MSc(Dist), LLM(Hons); Policy Unit, Office of the Commissioner, New Zealand Police, P O Box 3017, Wellington, New Zealand. Correspondence by email to paul.marriott-lloyd@police.govt.nz.

Abstract

Alcohol-related crime, disorder and nuisance cause concern in many New Zealand communities, leading to periodic calls for tougher enforcement of liquor laws by police. Most recently, anxiety has been expressed about increased youth access to alcohol, after the lowering of the minimum legal age for purchasing alcohol to 18 years. Preliminary data indicates that this change has led to an increase in underage drinking, particularly in public places, and an associated rise in alcohol-related disorder.

This paper examines New Zealand Police responses to such alcohol-related problems. Initiatives described include the use of minors in controlled purchase operations, which have been used to support the suspension or cancellation of off-licences at known 'problem premises'.

The paper also considers a recent amendment to the Local Government Act, which strengthened police powers of search, seizure and confiscation of alcohol; but that, due to a drafting error, effectively banned possession or use of alcohol in all public places.

The paper outlines how police used these provisions, and a range of other measures, to prevent alcohol-related problems in popular holiday spots that had been the scene of riots in 2000.

The paper concludes by outlining planned initiatives to better target alcohol-related crime and disorder, including an improved intelligence-gathering system.

Introduction

Anthropologists tell us that the human desire to consume intoxicating substances dates back to pre-literate times (Musto 1997). Interestingly, pre-European New Zealand was one of the few places in the world where alcohol-containing drinks were not developed (see Hutt 1999).

However, within a fairly short time of European settlement, alcohol had assumed a major role, leading some to describe this period of the nation's history as "baptised in alcohol" (McNeish 1984). Much has changed in attitudes to and practices involving alcohol these days, yet alcohol still plays a significant part in contemporary New Zealand society, and (heavy) drinking remains firmly embedded in New Zealand culture.

While most New Zealanders manage to consume alcohol without harming themselves or others, alcohol misuse still results in considerable health, social and economic costs, which are borne by individuals, families and the wider community. On an annualised basis, the social costs of alcohol misuse in New Zealand have been estimated at between $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion (Devlin et al. 1996; Easton 1997).

While not seeking to diminish the significance of alcohol-related health issues, in this paper we wish to focus on the role that alcohol can play in offending and public disorder. We do so drawing on the growing body of literature on alcohol as a criminogenic factor (eg. Lanza-Kaduce 1997; Deehan 1999), and the experiences of frontline police who often report that offenders are 'under the influence' when they commit crimes.

New Zealand research echoes overseas studies (eg. Room and Rossow 2001) in finding that alcohol is a key factor in many assaults (Young et. al. 1997), and a common trigger for family violence (Morris 1997). New Zealand statistics also bear out the long-recognised link between alcohol and road traffic accidents. In the 2000 calendar year, for instance, drink-driving was a factor in 26 % of all fatal crashes and 14 % of all injury crashes (Land Transport Safety Authority 2001).

Not surprisingly, a significant amount of energy is directed by agencies like the police, ambulance service, and others, towards dealing with alcohol-related problems. In fact, it is estimated that around NZ$100 million is spent annually by the New Zealand Police responding to alcohol-related incidents, out of a total budget of c.NZ$790 million (2000/01 financial year).

Changes to patterns of alcohol availability and consumption

In recent years, a number of changes have been made to the New Zealand drinking environment. One key change has been the lowering of the minimum legal drinking age to 18 years of age by the Sale of Liquor Amendment Act 1999. The increasing availability of alcohol in New Zealand is another notable development. Throughout the 1990s, there has been a proliferation in the number of liquor licences issued [Figure 1] and there has been an expansion in the range of places from which alcohol can be sold (Alcohol Advisory Council/Ministry of Health 2001).

Supermarkets, cafes, convenience stores and takeaway restaurants are now able to sell alcohol alongside traditional on- and off-licensed premises such as bars, restaurants and wholesale outlets. The 1999 Amendment Act also loosened previous restrictions allowing supermarkets to sell beer as well as wine, and permitted alcohol sales on Sunday. Many of the restrictions on opening hours have also been lifted. Effectively the hours of trading are now set by the individual licence rather than generic conditions being set across the country. This degree of individualisation has, for example, allowed some premises to obtain 24-hour licences.

Figure 1: Number and type of licensed premises 1990 and 2002



Groups such as the New Zealand Medical Association have expressed concern about these developments, and their potential to contribute to a rise in alcohol-related harm and disorder. Empirical support for these concerns has been found in research from Auckland University's Alcohol and Public Health Research Unit (Habgood et. al. 2001), which suggests that there had been a marked increase in drinking by young people, particularly males aged 16-17 (from 8 to 20 litres of pure alcohol per annum), and heavier episodes of drinking across the population as a whole (see, further, Lash 2002).

Anecdotal information from Police staff around the country also tends to indicate that there has been an increase in alcohol-related offences as a result of the increased availability of alcohol, in particular since the lowering of the drinking age. For example, Youth Aid officers report an increase in public drinking, an increase in the numbers of intoxicated young people on the streets, and that children as young as 12-13 have ready access to alcohol. Frontline staff also report an increase in alcohol-related disorder.

These issues are discussed in more detail below, alongside an outline of strategies to deal with alcohol-related problems which complement more traditional Police approaches to liquor licensing.

Alcohol-related offences

 There is evidence to show that the lowering of the drinking age, and to a lesser degree the relaxation of controls on licensing, has had an impact on alcohol-related offences involving young people. There has been an increase in the number of minors drinking in public places or possessing alcohol for consumption since the 1999 law change; however, there has been a reduction in recorded offences against the Sale of Liquor Act involving licensed premises.

The 1999 Amendment Act introduced Liquor Infringement Notices (LINs) which can be issued by Police for a range of offences involving the possession and consumption of alcohol by minors. The LINs provide an efficient administrative instrument to deal with infractions by minors, as an alternative to prosecution through the courts. In 2000, Police issued 3113 LINs for a range of offences, and a further 2506 LINs were issued in 2001 [Table 1].

Table 1: Number of Liquor Infringement Notices issued, 2000 and 2001

Offence TypeLINs issued in 2000LINs issued in 2001
Minors who purchase liquor from licensed premises25 31
Minors in a restricted area of licensed premises 106 68
Minors in a supervised area of licensed premises 166 88
Minors drinking in a public place 1233 1057
Minors who possess alcohol for consumption1550 1262

It is difficult to make any definitive assessments from the above data. However, the sheer number of offences involving minors drinking in public places or possessing alcohol for consumption is a concern to many, particularly in light of comparisons to offence rates prior to lowering the minimum legal drinking age in 1999 [Figure 2].

Figure 2: Number of apprehensions and Liquor Infringement Notices for minors drinking or possessing alcohol for consumption, 1994 to 2001



Against this, there has been a decline in offences relating to licensed premises. According to Police data there has been a reduction in offences relating to minors in restricted or supervised areas (14.3 %), sales of alcohol to minors (70.9 %), and other offences involving minors (37.6 %).

This data may indicate improved age identification practices (despite the difficulties inherent in this task: see Willner and Rowe 2001), and greater compliance from licensed premises. Equally, this decline could reflect a police preference to issue infringement notices to young people, rather than take more time consuming/resource intensive action against licensed premises.

If the latter is true, then New Zealand's experiences would lend weight to findings in Australia, and elsewhere, that police direct most enforcement action at individual drinkers who breach the law, rather than the venue that supplied the drinker with alcohol (eg. Findlay et al. 2002).

Public disorder

Turning to alcohol-related disorder, while there has been an increase in disorder offences involving young people over the last two years, there does not seem to be an explicit relationship with lowering the minimum legal age for purchasing alcohol.

This data is also influenced by policing styles. Further, as the base number of offences is relatively small, it may appear significant when considering the percentage of change before and after the passage of the 1999 legislation. Nevertheless, the data indicates an increase in public disorder offences by people under the age of 18, and other age groups [Table 2].

Table 2: Change in disorder offences during 1999/00 and 2000/01 fiscal years

OffencesChange: under 18 yearsChange: 18-19 yearsChange: total Population
Obstructing/Resisting 5.7 %[no change] 1.9 %
Inciting/Encouraging 81.8 %5.6 %30.6 %
Behaviour 24.8 %15.8 %14.2 %
Language5.9 %â21.3 %â1.6 %
Miscellaneous Disorder14.8 %4.6 %11.9 %
Disorderly Assembly 26.7 %50.0 %51.9 %
All Disorder18.8 %8.7 % 9.8 %

The increase in public disorder offences has also translated into increases in the number of young people convicted for disorderly behaviour - although this continues a trend that has been evident for the latter half of the 1990s [refer to Figure 3].

Figure 3: Number of convictions for disorderly behaviour for 18 and 19 year olds, 1991 to 2000



Case study 1: Alcohol-related offences/disorder during New Year's celebrations

As a way of bringing some of these statistics to life, it is worthwhile reflecting on some of the operational stories that lie behind the numbers. An interesting insight into what these alcohol-related offence and disorder figures mean is the differences that have been seen by frontline police over the last two New Year's celebrations, especially in some of New Zealand's more popular holiday spots, where large groups of young people come together.

An important power used by many local communities where alcohol-fuelled trouble has flared in past New Year's celebrations is section 709 of the Local Government Act 1974, allowing Councils to impose liquor bans in specified public places for up to 24 hours. The time-limited nature of such liquor bans was the subject of the Local Government (Prohibition of Alcohol in Public Places) Amendment Act 2001, which was passed under urgency on 19 December 2001.

Due to an apparent drafting error, the Amendment Act effectively banned the possession and consumption of alcohol in any public places controlled by a local Council. This sweeping prohibition was much criticised at the time, with fears that a situation could arise where police would confiscate alcohol from people when they walked from off-licence liquor outlets to their vehicles or homes.

The sense of unreality surrounding such bald enforcement powers, and legal difficulties associated with bringing the more-durable liquor bans into force in time for the 2001/02 New Year's festivities, meant that few Councils sought to invoke the new procedures.

A good example is the Waikato District, which has historically enforced liquor bans imposed by Councils under the Local Government Act. The District continued this practice with the introduction of a liquor ban on the Coromandel (the site of ugly confrontations between police and drunken rioters during 2000/01) from 1600 hours to 0400 hours on New Year's Eve. In Whangamata (one of the key trouble spots previously) 471 arrests were made for minor offences over the period 26th December 2001 to 3rd January 2002.

This compares with about 250 arrests for the corresponding period in the 2000/01 period. The reasons suggested for the higher number of arrests were a 'firm but fair' approach to minor offences, including liquor ban offences. It was also attributed to a c.25% increase in the holiday population in Whangamata compared with previous years, possibly due to better weather conditions and displacement from nearby areas, where the high levels of enforcement were communicated in the media.

Case study 2: Controlled Purchase Operations

Another noteworthy police response was 'Operation Miner' in Eastern Police District prior to the festive season (Greathead 2001), aimed at identifying and prosecuting licensed premises which sell alcohol to minors. The Operation involved volunteers aged 15-16 years attempting to purchase alcohol (a controlled purchase operation) from off-license premises in Napier, under the supervision of a plain clothed police officer.

The scheme featured the volunteer seeking to purchase a 'slab' of beer, 3-4 bottles of wine, or a bottle of spirits using an EFTPOS account devoid of funds. In this regard the scheme took into account section 180 of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989, which states: "it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to prove that any money passed or any liquor was actually consumed, if the Court is satisfied that a transaction in the nature of a sale actually took place."

The collection of a declined EFTPOS receipt was sufficient evidence of the licensee, or an employee, attempting to complete the transaction. This evidence and other exhibits, alongside an interview with the volunteer (who had previously agreed to appear in court to provide evidence) provided a basis for prosecution. Ultimately, this information was not required, as all 12 premises (out of c.30 visited) that attempted to complete the sales to minors pleaded guilty to the offence.

Police staff in Auckland City, which has over 1200 licensed premises, operate a similar scheme to target known 'problem premises'. The evidence gathered from these operations is used to support applications for the suspension or cancellation of licenses through the Liquor Licensing Authority, rather than prosecutions through the District Court.

This course of action is more timely, less expensive for police, and the evidential onus is less than formal court proceedings (decisions are based on the 'balance of probability' versus 'beyond a reasonable doubt'). To-date the Liquor Licensing Authority has upheld this practice against objections of entrapment. As a result of these trials, controlled purchase operations are now being utilised by police across New Zealand.

Prospects for the future

New Zealand Police will be looking to build upon these sort of approaches in 2002/03, as well as exploring further opportunities.

For instance, one option that we are currently exploring is whether it is possible to work with the main domestic breweries, Lion Nathan and Dominion Breweries (through the umbrella Beer, Wine & Spirits Council of New Zealand) to trial the use of plastic bottles in several holiday 'hotspots', and to measure the impact, if any, on disorder offences. This idea is based on the likelihood that glass bottles increase the risk of empty vessels being used as missiles, weapons, or becoming an injury risk if they are not disposed of properly.

Anecdotally, at least, use of plastic alcohol containers rather than glass bottles at certain sporting events in New Zealand has been associated with fewer serious injuries related to disorderly behaviour (and some research tends to suggest that impact-resistant glass alcohol vessels are no more helpful is preventing injuries than non-toughened glass: Warburton and Shepherd 2000). It would be interesting to test such intuitive predictions.

New Zealand Police are also progressing a number of strategic initiatives to enhance current enforcement activities. These initiatives, briefly outlined below, coalesce around legislative changes to facilitate compliance and enforcement of the Sale of Liquor Act, improving intelligence-gathering systems, and setting a clear framework for co-ordinated action to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder.

Legislative changes

Police have been proactive, proposing a number of legislative amendments to deal with recognised difficulties with enforcement of offences relating to the supply of alcohol to minors. For example, we support amendment of the Sale of Liquor Act to make the sighting of proof of age identification mandatory, and to remove the current defence against charges of the sale or supply of alcohol to minors if the licensee or their employees "believe" the purchaser/consumer is over 18 years of age (the establishment of proof of age documents could be seen to make this provision unnecessary).

Such legislative changes, if achieved, would complement the enhanced commitment to training of Police staff that we are undertaking in partnership with the Alcohol Advisory Council (BRC 2002), and which is recognised to be critical to the overall success of proactive alcohol policing strategies (eg. Smith et al. 2001).

In addition to better targeting problematic licensed premises, there is an imperative to focus on other suppliers of alcohol. This need is informed by research by the Alcohol Advisory Council (2001) and others, which has found that the majority of young people source alcohol from their parents (46 %), or from friends over 18 years of age (58 %).

While it is not proposed that the supply of alcohol by parents become an offence, the supply by a second party could be better addressed if police did not have to prove the "intent" to supply liquor to minors. Consideration could also be given to the introduction of an offence for the supply of alcohol to minors at a private dwelling, which is currently not prohibited.

Another issue to resolve is failure to pay LINs, as more than 50 % percent of these fines remain unpaid or have been referred to the Department for Courts for collection activity.

Improved intelligence-gathering systems

Another key area of work is the development of national data sources to support intelligence-led policing. In this regard, Police, alongside the Accident Compensation Corporation and the Alcohol Advisory Council, are investing in the expansion of the Last Drinks Survey (LDS). Developed a decade ago as part of a community action project, the LDS collects data on alcohol consumption, in particular where the last drink was consumed.

In the current areas of operation, the LDS is completed along with Police offence forms for a range of alcohol-related offences, including intoxication, drinking and driving, and family violence incidents. This data is collated and used to identify 'problem premises' for enforcement responses and to provide information to support the activities of liquor liaison groups. As such, the LDS offers a comprehensive information tool concerning alcohol-related offences, supplying the necessary data to:
  • monitor alcohol-related offending
  • better target compulsory breath-testing operations
  • better target problematic licensed premises
  • identify premises for further Sale of Liquor Act and host responsibility training (largely provided by public health services).
Although presently operating in only some Police Districts, at this stage it is anticipated that a national roll-out of the LDS will be undertaken during the 2002/03 financial year.

Framework for co-ordinated action

Bringing these areas of activity into a coherent whole is something we are committed to, notably through the development of a New Zealand Police Alcohol Action Plan. As currently envisaged, we foresee the Plan spelling out the types of interventions Police can take to prevent or reduce alcohol-related problems, stressing a balance between supply control, demand reduction and problem limitation initiatives.

In this regard, the development of such a document will be guided by the Government's National Drug Policy 1998-2003 (Ministry of Health 1998) and National Alcohol Strategy 2000-2003 (Alcohol Advisory Council/Ministry of Health 2001). Such a Plan would also serve to draw together activity in support of the overarching community safety and crime reduction goals of the new Police Strategic Plan to 2006 (New Zealand Police 2001).

The vision for a New Zealand Police Alcohol Action Plan is to ensure that police enforcement efforts are guided by best practice and represent best value. It will also provide for greater consistency across Police Districts, with the likely incorporation of specific alcohol-related performance dimensions within District-level business plans and/or service delivery agreements.

In developing such an Action Plan, New Zealand Police would certainly be able to draw on the growing number of similar-type documents from other jurisdictions, where a far more co-ordinated approach to alcohol-related crime and disorder is being attempted. For instance, we are particularly impressed by the scope and comprehensiveness of some of the initiatives being progressed in the United Kingdom - such as the Home Office's Action plan for tackling alcohol-related crime, disorder and nuisance, with its emphasis on good practice 'tool kits' (Home Office 2001).

We can see that this framework for action is being operationalised by individual constabularies throughout the United Kingdom (eg. Essex Police 2002), and see great potential for stimulating our own policy and practice development from these sorts of programmes which operate in other police jurisdictions.

Conclusion

In this paper, we have attempted to quantify some of the police concerns about increases in alcohol-related offences and disorder in New Zealand. While these increases may coincide with the lowering of the minimum legal age for purchasing alcohol, it is difficult to determine a cause-and-effect relationship.

Rather than concentrating on identifying negative impacts of the Sale of Liquor Amendment Act 1999, and an increasingly liberal drinking environment, we urge a focus on positive Police responses to these problems. We hope that the communication of New Zealand experiences will encourage further discussion, and the sharing of best practice, to assist practitioners from all disciplines to implement appropriate strategies to address alcohol-related problems in our communities.


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