Melbourne 2am lockout - Case Study Example

? MELBOURNE 2AM LOCKOUT Melbourne 2am lockout The period between June and September of 2008 saw the government of Melbourne through the Victorian Labour government introduce an initiative dubbed 2am Lockout which was basically meant to be a tool to stop alcohol related violence in the country. The time quoted served as a trial period with high prospects of its efficiency, which never materialized and as such, the lockout was not continued after this trial period. The initiative was designed to ‘lock’ out patrons and prevent their entering into bars, pubs as well as nightclubs after the prescribed time (2 am) until 7 am. Heavy penalties in form of fines were equally designed and implemented where licensees were highly discouraged from breaching the lockout initiative. The failure of the initiative as experienced resulted from various factors, which led to great opposition such as some exceptions that were applied where among the 457 premises that were initial targets of the policy, 115 of them received exception to the policy. Issues The issues raised in the 2am lockout in Melbourne are numerous and spans around supporting as well as discouraging the policy. According to the political as well as the media view, late night violence within the Australian cities was wholly to blame on alcohol (Wilson, 2013, para 1-2). There was therefore the need to introduce a policy, which addressed the increase in violence and such related anti-social behavior as was blamed on use of alcohol within the late night hours. There were many arguments raised in support of the policy which ideally supported curtailing patrons and licensees to access their premises within the stipulated time and which prohibited those who were within the respective venues to leave within the stipulated time. Among the arguments raised in the support included that this policy would be instrumental in restoration of balance between the country’s vibrant nightlife as well as the increased violence related to alcohol, anti-social behaviors as well as the increased health problems related to alcohol consumption. It had the capacity to curb pub-crawls which often lead to violence, and that the rate of pub hoping would be reduced. The tendency of people hoping from one venue to another after they are kicked out of the venue for such reasons as misbehaviors increased the rate of crime and violence within the country and hence the support of the policy. The reason on the need to curtail and prevent venue hopping was instructed by the fact that many of the related violence occur within the streets and not within the venues as would be expected. The timing of the proposed lockout was informed by the fact that this time represented the key time where the police involvement in curbing violence was on prime and hence the need to have the street movement of persons reduced for effectiveness. The reduction of street movement would be effective in allowing the police manage people and the occurrence of such crimes within the street as against the management of people within night venues. Moreover, the time between 2am and 7am was ample to allow police clear the streets of such drunkards or any resultant mess as well as allow the drunkards sober up (Melbournepubs.com, 2008, para 5). On the other hand, there were numerous cases raised against the imposition of such a policy, which included the un-fateful punishing of law-abiding majority of the persons as of the irresponsible actions of just a minority segment of persons within the society. The policy framework brought with it curtailing of freedom of choice to the general population besides reducing civil liberties to be enjoyed. The imposition of the ban changed the city from what was so wonderful about it (which served to attract many people into the 24-hour economy city) and the choice of only one venue for a night would never be satisfying to the majority. Imposition of the same reduced the time for persons serving within the hospitality industry to hang out after work and the entertainment vibe within the city was at the verge of declining. Besides, there was the high likelihood that many people would be locked out of entertainment venues by the curfew, which would result too many people being stranded in the streets, which would be ultimately unfavorable to the police. This had the effect of possible rise in violence and such vices, as was the target of the enforced policy. Of great concern was the likelihood of bad economic performance of the city because of minimized business hours besides the increased risk of road safety with majority of the people opting for distance night venues, which suffered no imposition of the ban. In fact, analysts raised a concern of increased illegal operation of night places besides low value to city apartments. These therefore presented enough reasons for the public to react towards the imposition of the policy. In fact, night venue operators reasoned that the ban was unfavorably targeting them and that it presented more harm to the public than the intended good. Therefore, the increased concerns from the public and the operators of the night venues led to the failure of the policy during the trial period and thus led to its abolishment. As Neil repots, the biggest mistake that the government made while devising and imposing the ban was the failure to involve the opinion of the public and particularly the operators within the industry. The failure was the hence inevitable and the remedy was to have a consultative policy making framework, which would ensure the complete engagement of all stakeholders in the design of such a promising policy (Neil, 2008, para 1-3). Design and imposition of other more appropriate policy frameworks such as imposition of more strict legal charges and empowering the police force on management of crime would be more fruitful concerning the management of the issues. The arguments in support of and those against the lockout are very real and hence required urgency in addressing them. The government and the stakeholders who took charge in drafting and imposing the policies would be responsible if they would consult the opinions of the players within the entertainment industry before the trial of the policy because much harm than expected good ended up being suffered. Mandates Mandates or missions on policy formulation represent the guided framework developed towards the governments, which would describe the important values that they are to seek and produce in respect to their operations (Moore, 2012, p. 23). In this regard, the government in Australian cities such as Melbourne had specific roles to play in curtailing the increased rates of violence related to consumption of alcohol in the late hours of the night and other such related vices. Besides, the government had the particular mandate in ensuring that business ventures are and operators are safe and have a conducive environment to operate from besides having their operations boosted by the government. Moreover, it is in the mandate of every government to ensure happy living of the public through curbing crime and ensuring safety of all persons. It was therefore the responsibility of the government to ensure that the city of Melbourne operated soberly even at those odd hours of the night through curbing insecurity and crime rate. Furthermore, the government was required to ensure increased economic gains from business and as such, any efforts that would inhibit productivity within the 24 hour city would be unfavorable. It was also in the interest of the public for the police to ensure law enforcement was improved and that the good of the public was ascertained against compromising it for the reason of a minority few. Justification for intervening Among the many issues raised pertaining the imposition of the policy within the city were the cases against its development and imposition. An analysis of the reasons that led the government to design and impose the lockout shows that the government had a justified course to intervene in the rising crimes and contain the situation. At is at the interest of the public domain that the policy was framed and thus the justification. However, rising against the trial of the policy framework by the public was equally justifiable in that more unfavorable outcomes are sighted against the intended good. People pointed out to greater harm that resulted from the imposition of the ban in Melbourne city hence the justification of the public intervention as was witnessed through such tools as the public protests. Developing and implementing policy options Appropriate and strategic development and implementation of a policy determines the success of the policy in realizing the intended purpose. I would employ the strategic triangle by Moore to develop and implement the policy institution as was necessary in the case of Melbourne (Rajabifard, 2011, para 1). The triangle presents the three main strategic factors that the government or any other agency intending to formulate and develop policy frameworks should focus on. It would have been very essential for the government to consider the ‘public value’ created by such a policy, ‘support and legitimacy source’ to authorize implementation as well as ‘operation al capabilities’ which would define the resource requirements that would be instrumental in implementing such a policy framework (Moore and Khagram, 2004, p. 1-4). I would have used this simple tool in developing and implementing the necessary policy options. It was necessary to evaluate what public value the policy would bring about within the targeted area and group of people. This is helpful in identifying the evaluation tools to be adopted for the policy developed. Direct implication here is that a policy would be favorable if it would result to realization of increased public good than harm. On the other hand, evaluation of the source of support as well as legitimacy of the policy is necessary in order to realize efficiency. For instance, it was necessary that before designing the policy framework by the government, opinions and support from the players within the industry would be essential in order to legitimize the policy. It would be unfair for a government to think that the public has no powers to contribute towards development of public policies. Finally, the triangle emphasizes on the importance of having a clearly defined resource support for implementation of a proposed policy. For instance, if I were to develop such policy options as were necessary in Melbourne, I would consider the availability of monetary resources to empower the police on containing street vices resultant from the alcohol use. Moreover, I would consider resources to support the economy from the likely losses to be realized by imposition of such a policy as well as resources to be used in case of development of another policy to counter possible unfavorable effects from the policy among others. Moore’s “alternative approach” There is always an alternative to doing something or overseeing the imposition of a policy. The alternative approach developed by Moore postulates `that there is always a next best alternative in doing something. In this case, designing and implementation of the lock out policy within Melbourne city was not restricted to the only way that the government employed. However, even with the policy having various approaches that would be adopted for design and implementation of the same, the resultant outcome would vary considerably. For instance, if I were to formulate and impose such a policy that would be effective in regulating the rate of alcohol uptake late at night and the resultant increase in crime and violence within the city, I would then target simplicity. Simplicity in this regard would be in such aspects as upholding professionalism as well as trust, simple targets, democracy and public voice as well as choices available (Coats and Passmore, 2008, p. 11). I would target professional policymaking exercise, which would mean involving qualified and competent persons in making the policy. The policy framework should be developed in a simple manner that would have simple and realizable targets, which would even be easy to evaluate. The voice of people is mandatory in such a process of public policy development where unlike the case with the government, I would ask for the public opinion in the matter. Besides, I would invite the participation of the stakeholders within the entertainment industry to give room for democracy to prevail. Finally, it is necessary that I should analyze all the choices available in making appropriate policy to control the vices resultant from alcohol uptake in the late hours of the night. This would ensure that the policy adopted is the most efficient one in addressing the concern at hand. Strategies and approaches to apply Effective and efficient policy implementation, just as the case with policy development requires appropriate and adequate preparation. This would involve timely communication with the public as well as the parties involved, setting proper budgets on the resources required, considering reorganization of various departments where necessary as well as understanding the political landscape of the country (Moore, 2005, p. 1-2). The implementation of the 2am lock out strategy would have lacked the observation of such critical factors hence the failure. According to a report on public policy strategies, these factors are paramount to the success of implementing a public policy (Publicpolicystrategies.com, nd, para 1; Astrue et al, 2010, p. 1-15). If I were to implement the preferred 2am lockout policy, I would prioritize on effective communication with both the industry players as well as the citizens at large. Instead of imposing the policy on people in an effort to try its applicability, it would be appropriate to get the views of the citizens through public rallies or such discussions in the media. This would save the government much resource, which would be wasted, is such a trial as that in Melbourne, which failed. It would also be very necessary to have proper understanding of the landscape of the country concerning business operations, entertainment preferences of the people and have a certainty in claiming that the rise in street violence at the late hours was directly caused by alcohol. Through such, I would be more objective in application of the policy unlike while it is applied without such considerations. Of greater importance is to have adequate resources for effective implementation of the policy. I would consider public awareness as a priority in order to have people understand the essence of the lockout, which would facilitate the ease of implementation. Such undertakings as public education and campaign rallies are resource intensive. It would also be necessary to be aware of the organizational arrangements of different sectors within the economy to avoid conflict of interests. The police force for instance should be well equipped to enforce law through such facilities as vehicles, police cells as well as proper training. On the other hand, police would work hand in hand with justice system and thus it is equally necessary to make strategic adjustments within these departments in order to allow smooth and efficient working together. Target public values Every public policy has an objective and purpose in meeting certain public needs and thus bringing about some needs. The discussion revolves around continuous improvement on meters of public good as addressed by the public management policies adopted by the government (Williams and Shearer, 2011, p. 5). For instance, this discussion involves imposing a lock out on the public concerning alcohol consumption because of perceived negativities from the consumption. In my analysis, rightful and effective implementation of this policy should bring about certain values to the society. Basic characteristics to the values being sought are normative consensus about people’s rights and perceived benefits, improving the relationships between the citizens and the state and overall improvement in people’s lives through restoring normalcy within the society. In this regard if I were to implement such a policy tool, I would prioritize on building on positive attitude between the state government and the people as a fundamental tool for successful positive correlation. This would be instrumental in ensuring that citizen’s rights are observed and respected by government agencies as a critical pillar to values of the citizens. Besides, harmonious interrelationship would lead to improved service delivery by the government to the people besides building the trust and positive attitude towards such policies by the government in the future (Moore, 2006, p. 97). Containing costs The formulation and Implementing of public policies are often faced with strategic shortcomings, which include high costs as well as political influence. Other costs incurred are such as administrative and public awareness costs (Andres-Amo, 2009, p. 1-9; Milkman, Chugh and Bazerman, 2008, p. 1-3 ). In order to contain costs associated with this policy, it would be necessary to involve representation from all parties of interest to the formulation to avoid recurrence of complaints at late stages of policy formulation. It would be necessary to have public input, political input as well as the input from relevant government agencies such as the judicial systems. However, political process of assenting to proposed bills related to such a particular policy may delay the formulation process, which raises the costs associated. Besides, political forces may be employed by lobby groups, which would result to resistance by the citizens and this increases costs. I would consider proper choosing a low costing media for public awareness and education. The use of public media such as through digital media and social platforms would be a relatively cheaper means of engaging the public than the use of print media as well as radio and TV. Modern day technological advancement would be an effective tool to be adopted to minimize costs in public relations because it presents a platform where people would actively participate in decision making on such matters of public interest. In order to minimize political related costs, I would ensure that the proposed policy is attracting political support before advancing it to far steps of formulation. Besides, having people support the policy would influence the politicians to support the policy, which would be appropriate in minimizing the cost. In conclusion, the 2am lockout policy as was imposed on trial in Melbourne failed because of lack of strategic planning and preparation. This led to divided attention by the public who interpreted the policy to be oppressive and whose outcome was more detrimental to the city’s welfare than the resultant gains as intended. Critical analysis would reveal poor preparation in formulation and implementation by the government as the main cause of the failure of the policy to realize the intended purposes. If I were to formulate and implement such a policy, I would emphasize on importance of engaging the public on the process of formulation in order to have them own up the policy. Besides, effective communication would assist in airing public view as well as the governments’ intentions towards the public. Proper policy frameworks would therefore be effective in ensuring the success of a government in management practices (Gavel, 2008, para 1-5). Bibliography Astrue M. J.et al, 2010, Enabling efficient policy implementation. Economist Intelligence Unit. 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