Binge drinkers need wake-up call - top cop
- From: Jerry@xxxxxxxxx (Jerry)
- Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 14:34:08 GMT
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23782811-5006790,00.html
Binge drinkers need wake-up call - top cop
By Tara Ravens | May 30, 2008
YOUNG binge drinkers and Aborigines account for the majority of people
in sobering shelters and protective custody in the Northern Territory,
says the region's top cop.
NT Police Commissioner Paul White today slammed the binge drinking
culture prevalent nationwide as "irresponsible, naive and dangerous".
"We're witnessing a disturbing national trend towards greater levels
of binge drinking by young people," he said.
"Unfortunately, serious harm is often associated with this approach to
alcohol consumption."
Young men who drink heavily think they are "bullet proof", he said in
a statement.
"(They) end up getting involved in fights or driving while drunk.
"In the case of young women, their levels of intoxication are leaving
them vulnerable to sexual predators."
Commissioner White said thousands of Territorians were taken into
protective custody or left in shelters to sober up each year.
According to the 2006 Drug Use Monitoring Survey, 70 per cent of
offenders held in Darwin Watch House had been drinking alcohol.
This figure jumped to 77 per cent for Alice Springs.
"That equates to a lot of people incapable of protecting themselves or
posing a serious risk to the safety of others," Comm White said.
"A majority of these people are repeat alcohol abusers from two key
segments of our community: predominantly indigenous men and women, and
young binge drinkers."
These people needed a "a wake-up call", Comm White said.
"It's about time they realised that binge drinking is not a free for
all where you leave responsibility and accountability at home, and
others to clean up the mess," he said.
Comm White's comments follow a meeting earlier this week between
Australia's top cops, who want liquor laws reformed to reduce binge
drinking and alcohol-related crime.
The police commissioners called for the abolition of some 'happy
hours' and a review of liquor trading hours.
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