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LONDON — Londoners are getting a sobering warning about their love of alcohol-fueled nights out, which can be disorderly at best or cause serious injuries and criminal behavior at worst.
LONDON — Londoners are getting a warning about engaging in alcohol-fueled escapades, which can be disorderly at best or cause serious injuries and criminal behavior at worst.
People who repeatedly commit alcohol-related crimes will be forced to wear ankle tags that monitor their drinking by recording levels of alcohol in their sweat every half-hour, the mayor of London announced Thursday.
People who repeatedly commit alcohol-related crimes will be forced to wear ankle tags that monitor their drinking by recording levels of alcohol in their sweat every half-hour, the mayor of London announced Thursday.
The yearlong initiative, which will be run in four London boroughs, authorizes courts to prohibit repeat offenders from drinking alcohol. If any trace of alcohol is detected, the “sobriety tag” will send an alert to the offender’s probation officer, and the person may be called back to court and face fines or sentencing. The aim, in addition to reducing alcohol-related offenses, is to relieve pressure on the criminal justice system, police forces and health services.
The yearlong initiative, which will be run in four London boroughs, authorizes courts to prohibit repeat offenders from drinking. If any trace of alcohol is detected, the “sobriety tag” will send an alert to the offender’s probation officer, and the person may be called back to court and face fines or sentencing.
Up to 150 offenders are to wear the tags for 24 hours a day, the mayor’s office said in a statement.
The aim, in addition to reducing alcohol-related offenses, is to relieve strains on the criminal justice system, police forces and health services. Up to 150 offenders are to wear the tags 24 hours a day, the mayor’s office said.
“Alcohol-fueled criminal behavior is a real scourge on our high streets,” Mayor Boris Johnson said. It deters “law-abiding citizens from enjoying our great city,” he added, “especially at night, placing massive strain on front line services, whilst costing businesses and the taxpayer billions of pounds.”
“Alcohol-fueled criminal behavior is a real scourge on our high streets,” Mayor Boris Johnson said. It deters “law-abiding citizens from enjoying our great city,” he added, “especially at night.”
“I pledged to tackle this booze culture by making the case to government for new powers to allow mandatory alcohol testing as an additional enforcement option for the courts,” he said. “This is an approach that has seen impressive results in the U.S., steering binge drinkers away from repeated criminal behavior, and I am pleased we can now launch a pilot scheme in London.”
Alcohol-related crime is estimated to cost the British economy some $22 billion a year. Nearly half of violent offenses are linked to alcohol, according to the Institute of Alcohol Studies. Last year, Britons aged 15 and older drank an average of 2.5 gallons of alcohol per person, it said.
Britain in the past has tried inventive schemes to deter excessive drinking, including locking up inebriated drinkers in “drunk tanks” until they sober up, after which they would be charged a penalty of nearly $700.
In one particularly vivid case of excessive drinking, a house party got out of control last December in Northampton, in the East Midlands. Three people ended up in the hospital, one with his arm nearly amputated by a meat cleaver and another missing part of his nose.
