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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In February 2005, following consideration of an independent evaluation of tobacco test purchasing pilots, the Lord Advocate revised prosecution policy to allow test purchasing of age restricted goods by children and young people under the age of 18, in circumstances where the purchaser is not committing a separate offence. This allowed test purchasing of fireworks, tobacco and other age restricted products, but not alcohol. While satisfied, in principle, that alcohol test purchasing would be an effective enforcement tool, the Lord Advocate remained concerned about the safety and welfare of the young people taking part in test purchasing exercises. It was agreed, therefore, that before the relevant provisions of the new Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 are generally commenced (probably 2009), a pilot exercise was to be undertaken. The aim of this pilot, conducted in Fife, was to assess test purchasing arrangements to enable common procedures and operating protocols to be developed to ensure that alcohol test purchasing can be carried out safely, fairly and effectively in a Scottish context.
The Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen) was commissioned by the Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Executive Health Directorate to evaluate the Test Purchasing Pilot in Fife in May 2006. ScotCen adopted a mixed method approach to obtain the views of licensees, volunteers and parents, police officers, procurators fiscal, licensing board members, alcohol and drug action teams and community councils. Analysis of test purchase data sheets completed by Fife Police during test purchase visits was also carried out.
The responses of all the participant groups involved in the research suggested that the alcohol test purchase pilot had progressed very smoothly and that very few problems had been encountered. There was also evidence that there existed a greater level of support for alcohol test purchasing to be adopted than was the case for tobacco test purchasing during the tobacco pilot, with a majority of licensees arguing that test purchasing should be implemented more widely, albeit in tandem with a robust national proof of age card scheme, and in a few cases other measures such as increased surveillance by police officers and education and training of licensed trade staff. As was the case during the tobacco test purchase pilot there was very little enthusiasm expressed for either the status quo or for test purchasing to be implemented in isolation.
During first test purchases 20% of premises failed the test purchase visit. Given the publicity launch, the media coverage and pilot information events for licensees, as well as actual visits to bars and shops carried out by police officers, the fact that one in five premises failed the first visit is arguably quite high. It is also important to note that on and off sale outlets of all types (apart from off licences) failed first test purchase visits. However, only 7% of premises failed the test purchase revisit, suggesting that the first visit had a great impact on the practice of shop and bar staff. In total, taking all types of test purchases into account, about 18% of shops, bars and nightclubs failed the test.
Test purchase failure during first visits was related to:
- Area of Fife (26% failed in Western Fife compared with 16% in Eastern Fife).
- Progress of time after launch: (25% of outlets failed in 2007 compared with 16% of outlets between June and August 2006). This suggests that awareness of the pilot decreased over time, and that being targeted as part of the scheme greatly increased licensee knowledge and awareness.
- Junior staff being at the point of sale (23% of junior staff failed compared with 12% of licensees). As well as demonstrating the importance of staff training, this supports the view of the police interviewees that young people were more likely to sell alcohol to their peers.
Although the pilot was viewed as being very successful other issues arose during its operation which might need to be addressed in the future. It was stated that the pilot had resulted in an increased number of adults being asked to purchase alcohol by groups of young people outside retail outlets. Also, respondents said that a few licensees were taking advantage of the fact that test purchasers would admit their real age and would knowingly sell alcohol to young people as long as they claimed that they were 18 years of age. Finally, the issue of young people having responsibility for the sale of alcohol, with inadequate supervision, was a cause of some concern, and suggestions were made that the laws concerning alcohol sales might have to be modified.
Therefore, at outcome the general consensus was that the pilot had operated as well as could have been expected, and according to many respondents it had even exceeded expectations. It is likely that the approach adopted in Fife, with licensees being informed of the pilot and offered advice and support after test purchases had taken place, was responsible for its smooth running and the favourable reaction from key interest groups. If other areas adopt a similar test purchasing system the results of this pilot would suggest that there are few grounds for concern, and it is probable that a majority of key stakeholders including licensees, police and volunteers would be receptive to and supportive of the wider implementation of alcohol test purchasing.
Acknowledgements
Interviews were conducted by Isobel Laidlaw, Andy MacGregor, Susan MacLeod, Irene Miller and Anne Robson. Focus groups were facilitated by Irene Miller, with scribing carried out by Susan MacLeod. Interviewer supervision was conducted by Irene Miller. Evaluation instrument design was by Andy MacGregor. Analysis and report writing were conducted by Andy MacGregor. Administrative and research support was provided by Lesley Birse and Ann Rennie. Transcription was carried out by Ann Rennie and Karen Stewart.
Many thanks to all of the individuals on the Enforcement Group who helped shape the research and offered advice and support to the research team during the evaluation. In particular, we would like to thank Mary Cuthbert and Joyce Whytock for their assistance and guidance during the project; once again their support was greatly appreciated. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the role played by Chief Inspector Alex Duncan of Fife Police Force in assisting the research team.
Finally, many thanks to all those individuals who gave their assistance to the research team, especially those who took part in the focus groups and interviews.
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