DEVON AND CORNWALL Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg is demanding government action against cheap booze.
During a live debate held at Newquay's Best Western Hotel Bristol yesterday, Mr Hogg called on the government to introduce minimum unit pricing immediately to stop the harm caused by alcohol misuse.
He is also asking opposition parties to make manifesto commitments to introduce similar legislation.
Mr Hogg said the damage caused by alcohol, and the crime linked to it, costs Devon and Cornwall £366 million a year – a "luxury" the region cannot afford.
"It's unsustainable- every day that the political parties delay, there are more hospital admissions and more arrests – affecting lives and using up valuable public resources," Mr Hogg said.
"Alcohol is almost top of my priority list, Devon and Cornwall police has its crime priorities, and alcohol vies with domestic and sexual violence.
"Alcohol is a huge load on society, it is damaging families, children, it is a load on both A&E and policing."
Mr Hogg said he has challenged the Minster for Crime Prevention, Norman Baker, over the government having "shirked the responsibility" of addressing minimum unit pricing.
He also described the government's recent action to ban the sale of alcohol below cost as meaningless.
"The government have come in with what we call a floor price, which is that alcohol would cost less than duty price VAT, and that measure was hopeless, because it's let through some of the high strength ciders which are the meat and drink of the problem drinkers," he said.
According to guidance issued by the Association of Convenience Stores to its members, three 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 Mr Hogg, Mr Baker admitted the estimated impact of the flagship measure would be to reduce alcohol related crimes by just 500 per year across the whole country.
Evidence has shown that a minimum unit price of 45p per unit of alcohol could provide an immediate drop in crimes of more than 5,000 per year, with an estimated fall in hospital admissions of more than 4,500. Sheffield University estimates a longer term reduction after 10 years of 34,000 less crimes and 24,000 less hospital admissions each year.
In the debate, Mr Hogg also discussed the issue of what is known 'preloading.'
"We have a societal problem of preloading, the 24-hour culture of drinking has enabled preloading, which is to stay at home, top up from supermarkets with cheap alcohol, and go out on the town after already drunk. The licensees are fed up with this culture.
"We also have parent dealers- parents who top up their young people with crates of alcohol to ensure that they're having a great time, and we're trying to put an end to it. We can't change these things overnight, there's no likelihood that we're going to move overnight."
