Booze Britain & Youth Crime?

Many refer to our country as ‘Booze Britain‘, some are happy and unconcerned by the stigma the label carries whilst others, well hopefully they are incredulous about it and would like to see some change…

At a time when the British are noted for their drunken antics abroad, where most weekend evenings are blighted by alcohol fuelled violence and antisocial behaviour at home, and let us not forget the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe, another worrying fact where drink is often a contributory factor. What’s to be done to stem the tide of this gargantuan problem?

When the Yorkshire Post recently highlighted; a  nine-year-old boy was arrested in Cumbria recently for drink-driving (see here) you surely must be asking WTF is going on?

 The child was just one of thousands of under 18s arrested in the north of England over the past two years. These included four 11-year-olds and a ten-year-old arrested in the Northumbria force area for car theft, and seven 12-year-olds arrested in Cleveland for the same crime.

Failing some miracle or return to the erstwhile higher standards of parental advice/control, a better level of enforcement would be a start. Action such as that outlined in the recent Yorkshire Post article; Leeds off-licences caught out by police ‘under-age’ sting. That and more affective enforcement on our streets and roads by the police.

Unfortunately, this is another area that is likely to require a miracle! With the current level of cuts being implemented, our police service is simply unable to provide the visible deterrent that is required. Deterrent that impacts upon those youngsters hell-bent on flouting the laws of our land. These children and young persons know, if they do wrong they are likely to evade any punishment. The chances of them actually being caught in the act today are reducing at an alarming rate. Many kids are simply laughing at our police and the legal system whilst having fun.

But it’s the type of fun where people often end up getting injured, maimed for life, or killed. Its bad enough when it is one of them however; far too often it is also totally innocent members of the public going about their daily business. How long are we prepared to let this shocking situation continue?

Despite the internal nature of this phenomenon in general, there must also be an apparent but negative impact upon our tourism industry. In a recent article in The Independent – Overcrowded, overpriced and overrated: welcome to Britain – the Lonely Planet Guides said: “Unfortunately at a time when everyone is in desperate need of a great value summer getaway some of Britain’s tourism industry just doesn’t deliver”… (Read more). And all that before they even consider the negative impacts of our ‘yooof culture’…

Our nation really is going down the pan, whether we can stop it or not is another matter! 

Related articles

• Booze Britain: Now fifth of women are drinking too much… and rate rises to a quarter in under 24s (dailymail.co.uk)
• MPs ‘too cosy with alcohol trade’ Doctors warn extra 250k lives risk liver disease (dailymail.co.uk)
• Binge Britain: Students race to become the first to end up in hospital (dailymail.co.uk)
• New low for binge Britain: Students race each other to A&E in lethal drinking game (dailymail.co.uk)
• Alcoholic aged three (thesun.co.uk)
• Nine-year-old boy held for drink-driving (independent.co.uk)