Blitz on alcohol-related violence


Nearly half of hospital admissions on weekends in Australia are alcohol- and drug-related, a leading trauma surgeon said on the eve of a trans-Tasman crackdown on alcohol-fuelled incidents.

Doctors and police have joined forces to announce the second Operation Unite for the year, with patrols across Australia and New Zealand targeting cities and regional centres in a pre-Christmas blitz this weekend.

De Villiers Smit, the director of The Alfred hospital's Emergency and Trauma Centre in Melbourne, said up to 40 per cent of hospital cases on Friday and Saturday nights were drug and alcohol-related.
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"It's well established that there's a major link between alcohol, drugs and street violence, domestic violence and motor vehicle accidents," he told reporters.

"The consequences of alcohol abuse are just phenomenal ... the visit to the emergency department is not the end of an alcohol-fuelled event.

"Alcohol-related trauma and violence often can result in ongoing rehabilitation that can take months and sometimes up to years.

"The psychological effects of alcohol- and drug-related trauma on the person, the victim and even the community, friends and family is immeasurable."

Victorian premier and teetotaller Ted Baillieu urged people to regard binge drinking as "not the norm".

"It's also about the personal damage to an individual's health, it's about the onset of depression, anxiety, it's about the development of brains in young people," he told reporters.

"We have to send a strong message about binge drinking."

NSW police chief Andrew Scipione says he's fed up with people who can't handle their booze, warning wrongdoers will be asking for trouble during this weekend.

"If you drink yourself into a stupor, then you are asking for trouble," said Mr Scipione, the Australasian spokesman for Operation Unite.

"Stop when you know you have had enough, and you won't get into trouble."

"I am really fed up with the regular reports of senseless assaults, glassings and avoidable accidents that cross my desk because people can't handle their alcohol and realise when they have had enough.

"My officers will do everything in their power to deal with this problem, but when it comes down to it, it is a matter of personal responsibility ...

In NSW alone, more than 2000 additional uniformed and plain-clothes police will be on duty.

The last Operation Unite in September resulted in 2432 arrests in Australia and New Zealand over two nights.

This weekend's large-scale operation will see officers out in force focusing on licensed venues, entertainment precincts and public transport.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/blitz-on-alcoholrelated-violence-20101214-18wr8.html


It would be much cheaper on tax payers ... more available hospital beds ... less family pressure ... and less crime if Alcohol is outlawed.

So should we outlaw this dangerous drug alcohol?

It wouldn't work Greens, it's been tried after all and it failed miserably...

Remember the Volstead Act??

Alcohol is too easy to make at home, so a ban wouldn't do much, except cause lose of revenue in taxes and pubs,clubs and restaurants...

I think the key word should be MODERATION.  Its a shame more people don't practice it.  Also more hotels, clubs, bars, should have whats know as responsible serving of alcohol, and practice it, not just say it.   After all its just as much down to them as well.   I mean, if you see someone just about ready to fall over, you know they have had to much to drink.

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Unfortunately, the responsible service of alcohol laws are so vague as to be useless (in NSW at least)....and don't stop friends from buying drinks for intox people...

gizmo_2655 wrote on Dec 15^th, 2010 at 7:20am:



Also the motivation for businesses is turnover since this drives profit.

Telling a retail outlet, stop selling your products to the consumer, even if the consumer is begging for it ... it is anti capitalism.

No, i'm not in favour of more organised crime. I'm also not in favour of saccumbing to the minority.

I also enjoy beer.

Maybe it should be banned for those found guilty of alcohol fueled violence. How would you police it though?

Some drugs, like alcohol and tobacco, are traditions associated with our culture, and alcohol is also a drug associated with the sacred rituals of Christianity, so it's unlikely to be banned. I'd suggest that most politicians and indeed most voters drink, so any discussion of banning it is academic.

I would like to see alcohol off-limits to those under 21, just my personal view, given research shows the human brain doesn't stop growing until about age 21 or 22, so I figure 21 is a fair compromise.