Alcohol Fuelled Violence in Melbourne - Case Study Example

Alcohol fuelled violence in Melbourne Name Class Unit Introduction Alcohol and drug related crimes have been a major issue on local communities in Melbourne. Apart from the communities, alcohol and drug related violence also accounts for a major occupational hazard for the emergency service workers and police officers (Giancaspro, 2015). There have been tragic deaths from the alcohol related violence in the area leading for the need to look for possible solutions. Alcohol leads to street violence and reduces the individual ability to control their emotions such as aggression (The New Daily, 2014). Research shows that almost more than half of the non-domestic assaults were alcohol fuelled. Alcohol also plays a major role in police assaults and the trend on police assault is still going up (Homan, 2010). This report aims at reducing alcohol fuelled violence in Melbourne CBD for 18 to 24 years old. The report has three objectives contributing to the overall outcome. The report will look at each objective, come up with an action plan and list the outcomes. Key risks will be listed and evaluation carried out. The report finally comes up with a timeline implementing the objectives. 1st objective: To reduce the amount of excessive alcohol consumption Excessive alcohol consumption leads to a lot of harms to the society. This is due to fact that most of the alcohol fuelled violence is contributed by excessive consumption. Action plan 1: Stop selling alcohol at specific time Restricting hours when alcohol is sold is a very effective strategy to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and associated harms. Research has proved that increasing the hours and days of alcohol consumption led to excessive consumption and alcohol related violence. Several bodies such as WHO have recommended limiting of alcohol consumption hours to reduced alcohol related violence (McMurran, 2012). Reduction of alcohol consumption hours is one of the most effective measures to curb excessive consumption of alcohol. The time for alcohol sale can be set to ensure that there is reduction of time for sales. Reduction of alcohol consumption hours is a matter of public interest and a major objective (Giancaspro, 2015). This will involve control of total or specific hours which alcohol is sold. This method will reduce aggression related to alcohol consumption hence reducing the harms (Homan, 2010). The move will disallow alcohol consumption extensions by more than two hours. All alcohol outlets will decrease their hours of sale by more than two hours. Proposed action 2: Only serving premix drinks This is a move that is aimed to reduce excessive consumption of alcohol hence alcohol related violence. The premix must have low alcohol content and can be mixed with hand or device. The premix drinks must come from the original containers which are purchased at the liquor distribution outlets. The move will also reduce cases of binge drinking and level of intoxication. Outcomes Reduction in rates of excessive consumption of alcohol Congestion in areas which have low restrictions Reduction in alcohol fuelled violence Key risks There is risk of people congesting in low restricted areas. There is no extensive research on selling alcohol on specific time Use of breathalysers is not highly effective and may not be relied on for conviction in some cases. The premix drinks may contain high alcohol level if not monitored Evaluation of the action plan 1: breathalyse people and observe proposed action 1 To evaluate the progress of the action plan, use of breathalyser and observation are vital. Breathalyser is a cheap, quick and effective method of testing alcohol. The main limitation with use of the breathalyser is the fact that the results can only provide evidence of alcohol consumption in the hours leading up to the test. The results are also based on the rate of individual alcohol metabolism, exercise and use of products such as mouthwash which distorts the results (McMurran, 2012). There is also need for continuous evaluation of the effectiveness of the restriction of alcohol selling hours in preventing excessive consumption and associated harms. During the period of restriction, there is need to observe whether there is reduction in violence related to excessive alcohol abuse. This will help in giving insight on plan effectiveness (Giancaspro, 2015). Evaluation of action plan 2: breathalyse people and observe action plan 2 This will involve use of a breathalyser as in the action plan 1. Those found to have exceeded the limits will have to be prosecuted and disciplinary action taken. The establishment owners are not supposed to serve premix to people who are already intoxicated. The action plan requires a lot of observation to ensure that it is successful. This is through use of statistic from the breathalyser and checking on reduction in excessive consumption of alcohol and related violence. Objective 2: To create a safer environment in the CBD for Melbourne nightlife Fights are known to occur in Melbourne due to excessive drinking. Creating a safe environment for Melbourne night life is a regulatory issue as well as an alcohol problem (MacLean, Ferris and Livingston, 2013). The main focus is on the hotels, taverns and night clubs which are the sites for alcohol fuelled crimes in Melbourne. There is need for transparent regulations and community empowerment in order to create a safe nightlife environment (McMurran, 2012). Action plan 1: police officers and punishment needs to be stricter There is need for strict punishment for those found guilty of alcohol fuelled violence and excessive drinking. This is through huge fines and imprisonment (The New Daily, 2014). Police officers will be required to be stricter in dealing with those engaging in excessive consumption of alcohol. This is through ensuring that they are caught and charged with the offence. The blood alcohol limit and the breath alcohol limit needs to be reduced and fines imposed. Use of effective regulations will ensure that there is severe punishment for the offenders (Homan, 2010). Proposed action 2: Introduction of better and safer technology Use of better and safer technology can help in creating a safer nightlife in Melbourne CBD. New technologies help in reducing excessive alcohol use. Technology can be used in detecting and intervention of alcohol and drug use. Technology will act as a tool for identifying risks and promoting resilience. Technology can be used to report incidence to police on patrol hence making it safe. Also, technology such as social media can be used to campaign against drug abuse (Giancaspro, 2015). Outcomes Enhanced nightlife security in Melbourne High number of patrol officers through the volunteering program Reduced excessive consumption of alcohol in Melbourne Reduced number of alcohol related incidences offender High use of technology to curb alcohol abuse and violence Key risks The high investment in safer and better technology may not always lead to desired results There may be resistance to adoption of high fines The efforts may not lead to reduction in excessive alcohol consumption and related violence Evaluation method to action plan 1: Volunteer patrolling CBD The use of volunteer police to patrol the Melbourne streets at night can help a lot in evaluating the safety of Melbourne at night. The police will increase the safety of the people at night in the city and ensure laws are followed. The volunteers can be allowed to use paperless arrests to ensure that there is faster prosecution and processing of those breaking the laws. This will monitor and ensure that anti-social behaviour associated with excessive alcohol use is reduced. Evaluation method to action plan 2: Survey The effectiveness of better and safer technology to ensure safer nightlife in CBD can be evaluated through surveys. This is through carrying out surveys with an aim of determining the success of the program. The survey can be carried out based on predetermined intervals. Objective 3: To educating young adults on the consequences of binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption Education programs for young adults on impacts of binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption can help a lot in Melbourne (Homan, 2010). This is through use of the existing literature on alcohol abuse and treatment approaches. Through this, young adults will know the negative impacts of their excessive consumption of alcohol, how they affect others and harm to the society. Young adults tends to drink the heaviest especially in their late teens and early twenties. If they are made aware if tragic consequences that their drinking leads to, they may reduce their level of drinking (The New Daily, 2014). Proposed action 1: have an online advertisement campaign to create awareness to public At the moment, the rise of internet makes online advertisement campaign very successful. Most of the young people use social media which makes it easy to create viral advertisements. The action proposes use of an aggressive online campaign where young people are educated and waned on the repercussions of binge drinking (Giancaspro, 2015). This will give the young people adequate information to make wise choices. The advertisement will also be put on the main online channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This will create a presence in the mind of the young generations and also utilise interactivity. Websites representing popular culture will also be used such as MTV.com. The recent advancement of cell phone technology will be used to aid in viral marketing. Proposed action 2: visit schools across Melbourne to educate them about alcohol safety These are planned visits to schools and education centres aimed at educating the youth on negative impacts of alcohol abuse as well as alcohol safety. The visits will be coordinated in all schools across Melbourne. This can be attained through cooperation with the Australian government department of education through the national drug education strategy. There is need for innovative alcohol abuse programs for students and training the teachers (Homan, 2010). The message delivered to the schools will be reinforced by the parents and community. This will create a safe and supportive environment which will prevent high risk behaviours of alcohol abuse. There will also be emphasis on the young people developing resilience to ensure they overcome stress which contributes to alcohol abuse. Outcomes Warm and safe environment where there is care for one another Good relationship between people where role modelling exists Education and awareness on excessive alcohol consumption among the youths Increased capability to handle stress through high levels of resilience Key risks The online marketing campaign does not always lead to positive results The program involves high costs and does not always translate to success Lack of community participation may jeopardise the program. Evaluation for proposed action 1: send out polls Poll is one of the most important measures of success. To evaluate the success of the advertisement to the target audience, a poll will be conducted. This will be used to measure whether the advertisement is capable of reaching its goals. The polls will have to be carried out at predetermined interval to ensure effectiveness. The results will help in determining the areas of improvement in the advertising campaign and how to make it more effective. Evaluation method for proposed action 2 Creating a website to monitor the education activities and their timelines can help in evaluating the effectiveness of the action plan. The websites will also aid in distribution of educational resources among the schools. Through the number of visit and resource download, the effectiveness of the action plan can be gauged. Timeline Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3 Conclusion Alcohol fuelled violence is a major problem in Australia. The problems brought by excessive consumption of alcohol are a problem to communities, paramedics, nurses and police officers. This leads to the need for measures to curb the excessive consumption of alcohol and which leads to alcohol fuelled violence in Melbourne. The main objective is to reduce the amount of alcohol fuelled violence in the Melbourne CBD for 18 to 24 year olds. There is proposition of three objectives which are; reducing the amount of excessive alcohol consumption, to create safer environment in the CBD for Melbourne nightlife and to educate the young adults on the consequences of binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption. The report gives action plans for each objective, outcomes and risks involved. The report has evaluated each of the action plans to come up with feasible objectives. Lastly, a comprehensive timeline is given which will ensure that all objectives are carried out at the right time. References Giancaspro, M., 2015. Late night lockout laws: Evaluating responses to alcohol-fuelled violence. Alternative Law Journal, 40(2), p.118. Homan, S., 2010. Governmental as anything: Live music and law and order in Melbourne. Perfect Beat, 11(2), pp.103-118. MacLean, S., Ferris, J. and Livingston, M., 2013. Drinking patterns and attitudes for young people in inner-urban Melbourne and outer-urban growth areas: Differences and similarities. Urban Policy and Research, 31(4), pp.417-434. The New Daily, 2014, “How we’d stop booze-fuelled violence: Top Aussies”, The New Daily.com 29th January 2014, Viewed 17th January 2016 from, http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2014/01/29/alcohol-related-violence- prominentaustralians-point-cures/ McMurran, M. ed., 2012. Alcohol-related violence: Prevention and treatment (Vol. 57). John Wiley & Sons. Read More