Criminal Justice Administration
Subject: Police Administration
2000 Words
APA referencing style
Due 4pm, 25/05/2012
- You are to choose one of the following topics:
(1) The focus Victoria Police has on reducing road trauma is driven by revenue raising policies of government. Critically discuss and include in your answer the complex issue of police pursuits.
(2) The engagement of the community is important for improving police service delivery. Critically explore community engagement and how police can improve connections with the community and the gathering of criminal intelligence information.
(3) Policing has become extremely diverse. Critically discuss aspects of the police role that could be privatised or performed by another agency and the advantages and disadvantages of this occurrence.
(4) Alcohol fueled violence has not been taken seriously by police or the public. Critically discuss and include in your answer at least one policing strategy for addressing this problem.
(5) The establishment of an anti-corruption watchdog in Victoria will eliminate illegal, unethical and improper behaviour by member of the police force. Critically discuss.
Please note that APA style referencing is preferred and information regarding this style is available from the RMIT Library web site or the Learning Lab. I have also provided you with a copy of the School Essential Assessment Guide
SOLUTION
Alcohol fueled violence
Introduction
Alcohol fueled violence is one of the evils of today’s world, which is increasing in magnitude and lethality every day. Australia has seen an increasing number of incidents of alcohol fueled violence over the years. A national poll shows that three in every ten Australians have been affected by alcohol-based violence (Admin, 2012). More than 70 percent of assaults on police officers have been related to alcohol-fueled violence. Everyday news includes news about people being knifed, robbed, killed, and attacked by alcohol influenced individuals. Alcohol has been blamed for about 73,302 hospitalizations which is equivalent to $ 15 billion of economic loss for Australia (Alcohol Fuelled Violence, Alcohol Related Violence). Moreover, alcohol fueled violence is a big occupational risk for emergency service workers (Admin, 2012). Doctors and nurses have to handle the raging alcoholics till then can be set free. While alcohol continues to be promoted in the country with newer pubs opening up and through advertisements, alcohol related violence seems to be on a rise.
The Australian police have been struggling with the issues of alcohol fueled violence, and are yet to come up with an effective way of handling the situation. There has been increasing pressure on Government as well as the Police to bring down the alcohol related violence to restore normalcy in Australia.There have been some initiatives like the Operation Unite which has seen collaborative action by the police across Australia, along with the police of New Zealand. Mandatory night breaks have been implemented on bars and pubs. However, the problem continues to persist.
This essay provides a critical analysis of the issue at hand i.e. alcohol fueled violence and examines police officers’ combat strategies for tackling the problem. An effort has also been made to understand the underlying cause of the problem.
Alcohol Fueled Violence: A Situation Analysis
Alcohol fueled violence has come to be associated as part of an Australian’s everyday life. An author of an article says, “In many towns in Australia, ‘alcohol fueled violence ‘is so commonly heard that we are now becoming desensitized to reacting to it an emotional level” (Alcohol Fuelled Violence, Alcohol Related Violence). South Australia Police statistics for 2009-10 in the Adelaide CBD show the enormity of the problem and the seriousness of the issue at hand (SA Police, 2011):
- 69.9% of public order offences were alcohol related
- 59% of arrests were alcohol related.
- The majority of the crimes happened after 2 am on weekends
- 53.7% of offences were alcohol related in Hindley street, compared to 36.5% for the CBD
Australia is plagued by the after-effects of alcohol fueled violence, as it struggles with social, financial and health costs associated with alcohol fueled violence. Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AERF) has reported that the national economic impact of alcohol misuse is 36 billion AUD (Edwards, 2011). AERF also reported that more than 24,000 Australians were victims of alcohol-related domestic violence. About 20,000 odd children have been victims of alcohol-related child abuse (Edwards, 2011).
Alcohol related violence creates physical and deep psychological impact on the victims and their family members. They have also resulted in deaths. The violence is often seen among the young generation, thereby the attackers as well as the victims being mostly the younger generation. As a victim of alcohol-related violence says, “I used to see bashings every night” (Edwards, 2011).
The emergency service workers have been victims of the alcohol fueled violence. With increasing number of bar-fights and pub-brawls, the paramedics have to go and fetch the victims and injured. Sometimes the attackers even attack the paramedics. Sometimes the violent alcoholics are themselves the victims. In such cases, the doctors and nurses are also left to deal with the effects of alcohol related violence.
Understanding the Cause
The question arises; does alcohol really create violence tendencies in people? While the relation between alcohol and violence is not mathematically established, research shows that violence is more likely to occur in the presence of alcohol rather than without alcohol (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2001). In 1988, a National committee on Violence was set up. Some of the key conclusions of the committee were:
- Drugs and Alcohol tend to have effects on an individual’s neurological foundation, personality and temperament.
- Violent behavior from consumption of alcohol may be explained as inability to control one’s impulsive behavior.
- Alcohol’s effects on an individual are less a result of alcohol’s properties, and more a product of various psychological and social factors.
Research shows that above a particular Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level there is a tendency to become involved in alcohol fuelled violence. Research puts the safe level of BAC at 08 (Alcohol Fuelled Violence, Alcohol Related Violence). A research done in 2000 shows that the major factors related to violence are drink promotions, group drinking, crowding, and aggressive bar staff (Lincoln & Homel, 2001).Alcohol Fueled violence is not just a problem of modern age. It has been there since a long time. To understand the problem now, it is required to understand the root of the problem. Combat strategies can’t be designed without understanding the psychological, cultural and sociological aspects of this problem.
The majority of people involved in alcohol fueled or alcohol related violence is on an average light or moderate drinkers who occasionally binge drink. An individual’s frequency of heavy drinking is the major decider of the effect of alcohol on the individual rather than the average consumption of drinking(Stockwell, Vallis, Phillips, & Hollins, 1988). The drinking risk categories have been associated to levels of harm. It has been suggested that if the quantity of alcohol consumed was decreased by all levels of drinkers, then the levels of harm would also decrease(Kreitman, 1986). Research shows that around 3.7 million of Australians aging above 14 years drank risky quantities of alcohol (AAP, 2011).
No Serious Takers for the issue!!
The problem of alcohol abuse has continued to survive and even increase over the years due to gross negligence by the public, the Government and the Police. Australians are proud of their drinking culture. A blogger tries to prove this point by saying “Alcohol does not cause violence” (The Myth of “Alcohol Fueled Violence”). Lack of personal responsibility has fueled the problem. Australia has often been accused of condoning binge drinking (Edwards, 2011).
The bars, pubs and the alcohol companies have been busy looking at their profits to give a care for the issue of alcohol fueled violence. Alcohol continues to be advertised on televisions. Promotions on alcohol are a daily affair. The bars often encourage people coming in groups by giving the groups discounts. They do not go for breaks, even when it has been made mandatory.
The public attitude towards the issue has been very lukewarm. Only when the near and dear ones get affected, the people raise their voices against alcohol related violence. On the whole, the general public has become accustomed to the alcohol fueled violence. There is the existence of ‘drink to get drunk’ culture, which is giving rise to the not so serious attitude of the public towards the problem.
Although Government has started coming down strongly on the issue in the last year through the implementation of various restrictions on the bars and pubs, the police action on the field has been very dismal. Police have even been accused of going soft on drug traffickers and alcohol misusers before the state elections (Mickelburough, 2011).
What are the Police and Government doing?
Governments worldwide are worried about alcohol fueled violence and are constantly in search for effective methods to fight this evil. There has been implementation of different strategies to combat the problem. The most common action taken by the Governments of various countries has been closure of bars and pubs after midnight, and surprise arrests at local spots. BAC levels are checked and if found above the safe level, arrests are made. Some of the major strategies that have been implemented by different Governments have been discussed below.
In Perth, shots of alcohol have been banned. Energy drinks mixed with alcohol are also planned to black-listed in the pubs and bars (Cox, 2011). The Western Australia’s Director of Liquor Licensing has started these initiatives to curb binge drinking among the youth. There are also plans to impose lockouts 30 minutes before closing time of the pubs/ bars. All the inner-city bars, pubs and watering holes have been brought under this restriction. It will also be applicable to hotels.
Operation Unite was launched in 2011 as pan-country hunt on alcohol related violence. Also called the Trans- Tasman blitz, it was aimed at stopping alcohol related violence on weekends (AAP, 2011). Operation Unite was launched by the NSW with the help of a victim of alcohol fueled violence. The Operation Unite has been launched across Australia and New Zealand. For the 1st weekend when it was launched, hundreds of extra officers were pulled in. The Public Riot Order Squad and specialist licensing police were also involved in the operation.
Apart from the above steps, there have various actions at local levels. Gold Coast, for instance, has a compulsory break between 5 am and 7 am. In New South Wales, the break is in between 4 am and 10 am(Edwards, 2011).
Solution to ‘Alcohol fueled violence’?
A change in public attitude and swift actions by the Police are important criteria for solving the problem of alcohol fueled violence. As discussed earlier in ‘the cause of the alcohol fueled violence’, the violence nature can be mainly attributed to high levels of drinking, group drinking, crowding and rude/ aggressive behavior showed by the bar staff. Thus, for tackling the problem the following points are essential:
- It is important to build a culture of responsible drinking. Teenagers should be provided these learning as a part of their education curriculum. Advertisements showing responsible drinking should be made part of the advertising campaigns by the liquor companies.
- Police and Courts of Justice have to be swift in handling the cases. Even when police have arrested violent teenagers, they are let go eventually. Examples should be set by giving appropriate punishments to the violators. A U.K. court jailed a female student accused of violently attacking a female paramedic after being drunk (Hull, 2010). This was done to send a clear message across to the youth who were taking alcohol fueled violence for granted.
Conclusion
The issue of alcohol fuelled violence has been a part of Australia since a long time, and it is high time that the public and police work towards removing the problem. The impact of the alcohol fueled violence transcends general property losses or minor injuries. Alcohol related violence creates physical and deep psychological impact on the victims and their family members. They have also resulted in deaths. Australia struggles with social, financial and health costs associated with alcohol fueled violence. Profit-hungry businesses are keen on making profits rather than taking up responsibility for cleaning up the mess.Alcohol continues to be advertised on televisions. Although initiatives have been taken by the Government and police in the recent years, a holistic combat strategy should try to understand the root cause of the problem and accordingly plan the battle. Police and Courts of Justice have to be swift in handling the cases. Examples should be set by giving appropriate punishments to the violators.With drinking deeply embedded in the Australian culture, controlling alcohol fueled violence will take more than just implementing night breaks at bars and pubs.It is important to build a culture of responsible drinking.
Works Cited
AAP. (2011). Police Unite to tackle alcohol fuelled violence. Retrieved May 2012, from Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/police-unite-to-tackle-alcohol-fuelled-violence/story-fn7x8me2-1226208363515
Admin, N. (2012). Three in Every 10 Australians affected by alcohol fueled violence. Retrieved May 2012, from NURSE UNCUT: http://www.nurseuncut.com.au/three-in-every-10-australians-affected-by-alcohol-fuelled-violence/
Alcohol Fuelled Violence, Alcohol Related Violence. (n.d.). Retrieved 2012, from Pedestrian 08 Campaign: http://pedestrian08.org/about/alcohol-related-violence/
Australian Institute of Criminology. (2001). Alcohol, Young Persons and Violence. Australian Institute of Criminology.
Cox, N. (2011). Drink bans introduced to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence. Retrieved May 2012, from Perth now: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/drink-bans-introduced-to-tackle-alcohol-fuelled-violence/story-e6frg13u-1226036444778
Edwards, C. (2011). CRI English.com. Retrieved May 2012, from Alcohol-fueled violence haunts Australia: http://english.cri.cn/6966/2011/05/11/2021s636805.htm
Hull, L. (2010). Alcohol-fuelled violence is plague of Britain, says judge after jailing ‘drunken barbarian’ female student. Retrieved May 2012, from Mail Online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1281865/Alcohol-fuelled-violence-plague-modern-life-says-judge-jailing-high-flying-female-student.html
Kreitman, N. (1986). Alcohol Consumption and the preventive paradox. British Journal of Addiction, 353-63.
Lincoln, R., & Homel, R. (2001). Alcohol and Youthful Rites of Passage. Australian Institute of Criminology.
Mickelburough, P. (2011). Victoria Police drugs fight loses bite. Retrieved May 2012, from Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/police-drugs-fight-loses-bite/story-fn7x8me2-1226060704471
SA Police. (2011, March). SA Police News. Retrieved May 2012, from Stemming the flow of alcohol fuelled violence: http://www.sapolicenews.com.au/fact-file/942-stemming-the-flow-of-alcohol-fuelled-violence.html
Stockwell, T., Vallis, R., Phillips, A., & Hollins, P. (1988). Attitudes to health promotion in licensed premises. Journal of the Royal Society of Health, 209-11.
The Myth of “Alcohol Fueled Violence”. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2012, from Sophist in Training: http://sophistintraining.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/you-are-the-problem-shifting-emphasis-in-victorias-alcohol-fueled-violence-programs/
LF88
“The presented piece of writing is a good example how the academic paper should be written. However, the text can’t be used as a part of your own and submitted to your professor – it will be considered as plagiarism.
