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Review of law on alcohol-fuelled crime
17/07/2007
A review of the law to make clear to drunk offenders that alcohol will not be seen as a mitigating factor in their crimes was announced today.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill told 200 delegates at the World Health Organisation's international conference on tackling violence in Tulliallan, Fife, that it was time for Scotland to change its 'bevvy' culture - and for the criminal justice system to leave those who do behave like this in no doubt that they, rather than alcohol, will be held responsible.
He said High court judgements since the 1980s have set out under common law that alcohol should not be regarded as a mitigating factor in violent crimes.
Mr MacAskill said he believes the time is now right to review whether that message is being heard clearly and consistently by those coming in front of all parts of the court system.
"We in Scotland have a cultural problem with alcohol. Too many Scots think it acceptable to drink to get drunk.
"Abused partners. Random assaults. Stabbings. Vandalism. The impact is there for all to see - on the streets, in police stations, in hospital emergency departments, and in the courts.
"High Court judgements since the 1980s have made clear in common law that alcohol should not be regarded as a mitigating factor in crimes.
"Yet drink and disorder still appear together in the dock as partners in crime.
"The most recent statistics show that seven out of 10 of those accused of murder in Scotland had been drinking or on drugs. Nearly half of Scotland's 7,000 prisoners say they were drunk at the time they committed their offence.
"The time is now right to review whether that message from the High Court is being heard clearly enough and consistently enough by those coming in front of all parts of the criminal justice system.
"I have asked my officials to look at the current position to see how we can use a future Criminal Justice Bill to make a clear statement in law that being drunk will simply not be accepted in courts as an excuse for bad behaviour.
"The old excuse 'that it was the drink that did it' is still being trotted out far too often in Scotland. I want to say categorically that no, it wasn't the drink, it was you that did it. We now accept this when it comes to drinking and driving. We need now to accept it in all areas of life whether assaults or loutish behaviour
"So its time to remove the tired excuses from our national vocabulary, and for drunk offenders to expect a sobering experience every time they land in our courts. The drink is not an excuse."
The Scottish government is developing a long-term strategic approach to shifting attitudes and changing behaviour towards alcohol. The misuse of alcohol does much more harm to our society than violence and crime alone - it is a significant factor holding back the overall health of the nation.
The Justice Secretary has already set out his determination to take swift and tough action in the areas of underage sales and irresponsible promotions - with plans to hit hard licencees that sell to under 18s - a sale may result in the loss of the premises licence. We will be considering how best to achieve this as part of implementing new licensing laws.
There will also be a crackdown on irresponsible promotions and discounts of alcohol. The new Licensing Act bans certain types of promotions in pubs and clubs and some in shops. The Justice Secretary is now looking at what other types of promotion should be restricted - for example, those which can encourage people to buy, and drink, more than they intended such as buy one get one free or multi-pack deals.