NSW: Police admit letting guard down on alcohol crime
SYDNEY, Aug 6 AAP - A decision to abolish full-time licensing police a decade ago ledto an increase in alcohol-related crime, a senior NSW police officer said today.
A NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research study said police found it easier tocharge drunken patrons rather than the owners, managers or staff of licensed premiseswho served them.
Bureau director Don Weatherburn said less than two per cent of all licensed premiseswere prosecuted for serving drunken patrons, despite clear evidence the problem was morewidespread.
"The point he was making was we are not doing our job," Assistant Police CommissionerBob Waites told reporters.
"I would have to say in some respects, particularly over the past decade, we've relaxedour stance on alcohol and alcohol-related crime."
Mr Waites, who is also Greater Metropolitan Commander, said 70 per cent of all policecalls for service involved alcohol, whether it was the victim or the offender.
"In some areas of the state, in fact it's higher."
Despite this, a decision was taken in the early 1990s to abolish full-time licensing police.
"Now looking back in hindsight, you could say it wasn't the right strategy," he said.
"We've been working in recent times to try and replace that.
"What Don Weatherburn is saying is in fact true; we need to improve our training -we've started to do that - we need to look at restructuring and we've started to do that."
Mr Waites said fewer than 60 officers across NSW currently have the experience andcapability to handle licensing issues.
"Across the state, I would be looking for probably four or five times that many whowill be professional, fulltime licensing police."
Almost every police command has had people under training for the past six months todevelop a specialised force of licensing officers and a legal services unit made up ofsolicitors who were experienced licensing prosecutors, he said.
"Within the next few months, every command will have licensing police doing the job."
Asked if the crime problems caused by excessive drinking could be controlled, Mr Waitessaid: "I don't know if you can ever get total control of the problem because it's aboutAustralia and what Australians do."
AAP jph/nf/lb/jlw
KEYWORD: LIQUOR POLICE
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