The Government has responded with its Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy including an array of penalty notices, anti-social behaviour orders, curfews and use of dispersal orders. But do we need to look past criminalising children and young people for what is clearly not just a policing problem?
The 2003 European School Survey Project On Alcohol & Other Drugs showed that heavy drinking among 15- to 16-year-olds in the UK was among the highest in Europe. A recent Department of Health study also showed that 25 per cent of children aged 11 to 15 are drinking about 10 units of alcohol per week. And with 20 per cent of exclusions from school a result of drinking alcohol it is obvious that there needs to be an integrated approach to tackling the causes of underage drinking.
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