Alcohol scheme offers an alternative

And those who attend the awareness-raising session, delivered by Druglink, pay a £40 fine for the offence they have committed rather than the usual £80.

So far 40 people have attended the courses, including residents from Bolsover and Chesterfield, and a further seven are booked onto the next one. According to Druglink, this is a much better take-up rate than in other areas of the country – 25 per cent of people offered the course in Derbyshire are accepting compared with 17 per cent in other areas.

The course provides details of the medical effects of alcohol, covering everything from liver disease and cancer to depression and impotency, as well as looking at how excessive drinking contributes to anti-social behaviour and violent crime.

It is aimed at encouraging course attendees to reduce their alcohol intake and assess the impact of drink on themselves and those around them. In turn, this should impact on alcohol-related crime in Derbyshire.

It is also reducing the time police officers have to spend in custody suites and completing prosecution file paperwork, giving them more time on the beat.

Evaluation of a similar scheme run in Hertfordshire showed that the course has helped people change their drinking habits, made them more aware of the links between drinking and crime and made them think about the amount of alcohol units they were drinking.

Everyone involved in setting up and running the Derbyshire scheme, which is being funded by the Police, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council, says that it forms an important part of community safety work designed to reduce alcohol-related crime, particularly because it reaches those who do not benefit from work done in schools, youth service, parent and community groups.

Commenting on the scheme, Bolsover section Inspector Graham Lamin said: “This scheme is about engaging with a hard to reach group of people through education. It is intended to affect the long term behaviour of participants by highlighting the potential risks and consequences of excessive alcohol consumption and binge drinking. It has been well received.”

Cllr Brian Murray-Carr, Chair of the Community Safety Partnership, added: “We are pleased that people are deciding to attend this course; we hope they will benefit positively from this opportunity in terms of raising awareness and addressing their future behaviour and drinking habits”.

ENDS

Release date: July 14, 2010