www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-25/judge-calls-for-action-on-alcohol-violence-epidemic/4536718

New South Wales's most senior magistrate has warned that alcohol-fuelled violence has reached "epidemic proportions" and the community is "fed up" with the perpetrators.

The latest figures show that each year as many as 70,000 people are involved in alcohol-related assaults, which cost the community $187 million annually.

Discuss.

Encourage to be people responsible for their actions. If you are the victim of a crime you should be allowed to seek monetary compensation from the perpetrator rather than having them just locked up by the state.

IMO the age limit for minors is where the problem lies.

The age of the offender should be irrelevant depending on what crime/crimes he or she committed - same punishment should be applicable regardless of age

sn said...
easy fix. ban booze.

discuss

Banning alcohol would reduce some crimes but would make criminals out of many Australians who would be punished because of the actions of others. This is completely unjust. You might say, "obey the law" however many laws exist only because they are backed by the state and it's threat of violence if you break the law. The best laws come from the bottom up, not from on high, dictated by what are affectively our unanswerable lords and masters.


Plus banning alcohol would encourage criminals to supply alcohol to those wanting to buy it, analogous to the current criminal prohibitions for certain drugs and directly comparable to the prohibition years in the USA.

Sharia law.

AquaPlow said...
...

I would establish a cost for any and every assault being 1) the cost of police time, 2) if required the cost of any other professional service - Ambulance / Fire Brigade etc.

Before any charges can be heard the parties involved must pay upfront or go to jail until they can - jail being a low security affair in a remote town - i.e. outback.

...

The basis here = responsible for your actions regardless.
I do not think absorbing the public facilities free of charge for this use should be at no cost to the abuser(s)...

...

AP

Trouble is punishment before a finding contradicts a basic principal of justice.

Also one could argue that the punishment being for the benefit of society and not the crim, society should bear the cost. The counter argument is that the cost is part of the punishment in which case the cost must be related to the crime not the cost of punishment.

I doubt raising the drinking age would help (and I'm not in the bracket that would make me underage again). Teenagers start drinking well before the 18 age is reached.

And I'd be sure plenty of those assaults are committed by people >21.

I think the driving thing has been solved a bit with the 0.00 BAC for P platers. When I was on my Ps we were allowed 0.02 or something. If people are going to drink and drive they will do it regardless of drinking age laws. But at least 0.00 means no 'ohh i guess i can have one'.

The lack of punishment is probably an issue. Assaulting someone is a serious crime and if someone beat the **** outta me I'd want them in prison. I'm not talking a little punch up, but a decent working and I know that brings up grey areas etc but there will always be some biffo.

Another issue is that it seems a few people think it is 'cool' to get into a fight. I don't know if this is a modern thing or not. Or that it is acceptable to brutally beat someone after the fight is 'over'.

I go out at night a lot and I've never been in a fight, or had mates involved in one. Sure there are close calls, but they are avoidable if you're reasonable.

Peoples privileges need to be revoked. Lose of license, no entry to night venues (nearly everywhere has finger scanners now, wouldn't be difficult to get some set up going), some decent fines, going to the slammer etc.

youngbull said...
NotWal - Sharia Law

Are you Trolling? Because that is a fairly large statement.

Not trolling, kidding. Have a

Alrighty then

Clearly aussies just can't handle their piss! Can't do anything or go anywhere without alcohol being present, the footy, speedway, fireworks, gota have a beer.

The weak justifications parents come up with for allowing their kids to consume alcohol while under age is pathetic.

Where to start? maybe limit access to alcohol.

Mark _australia said...
Beerdead - bloody spot on.

But also add

Insular society (don't know your neighbours) and more indoor personal entertainment like 30 TV channels, internet etc etc) and many kids are no longer subject to discipline from the friend's parents, neighbours, coaches, clubs etc.

Dumbing down of education standards (nobody fails anymore) so mediocre is just great

Lack of personal responsibility - told all about rights not responsibilities. That seems to be starting to (slowly) correct?

Big one - desinsitisation to violence and lack of empathy. For the same reason there is outcry over online bullying with people taking their own life, and /or normal people saying horrid things to others on FB etc ........ same reason we see more frequent vicious assaults. Lack of real personal interaction due to social media combined with glorified violence on movies is a massive issue. the, say, 15 - 21 y/o of today has bugger all empathy toward fellow man.

Soft magistrates. Zero punishment in children's court - after 3rd or 4th conviction they may get a suspended (pretend) jail term. MAYBE. What do they learn? Teachers can't touch me, dad doesn't care cos he left years ago, I am bigger and meaner than single mum so she can get fkd, now in court the Magistrate just told me I am naughty and I have to to go see a counsellor for 30mins a week. lol all the way home.

very true.

Prisons are a load of ............ they get 3 meals a day and free accommodation, with anything thing they want. where is the punishment in that??? I agree with getting them out and doing community service till the ones they injured / assaulted believe they are ready to stop, and go back to the real world.

Kids are all about themselves now days, they dont care about anyone else, and their parents included. I was leaving for work to drive to Toowoomba about 4am in the morning seeing kids as young as 8-10yo walking the streets cigarettes in one hand and a bottle of V in the other. punish the parents as well as punish the children.

ABC 4 Corners covered this subject last night, an interesting program.

Little Jon said...
raise the drug age to 21 for women and 35 for men
give them mdma instead of alcohol

This.

Decriminalize marijuana and ecstasy.
Close all the pubs at midnight or 1. Provide better transport options to get people home.
Funnel the remaining punters into clubs where alcohol is still available, but double the cost and 'happy drugs' are the cheaper more fun option. (nb meth and speed are not happy drugs)
Public drunkenness wins you a night in the lockup.

alcohol is a terrible catalyst for violence. i went to a lot of dance parties, festivals and clubs back in the day. everyone was off trolley, but i never saw any fights. yet when i'd go out to pubs, there were always blues.

I think it is too late guys and gals. The horse has bolted.
Its not only Australia that has this problem. Its world wide with the twitter generation. Don't think any of the "raised" drinking age or stiffer penalty's will make a lick of difference.
The world is their oyster I guess, we pretty much farked the planet for them with the ozone layer and sending most of the planet into a garbage dump so I guess we can't be too harsh on em for having a different set of values than my generation
Pretty sad but thats evolution for ya.
Maybe im a pesimist but there ya go.
W

Have to agree with your additions Mark.

Moby I agree that there has always been youthful rebelliousness, but the scale of it seems to be out of proportion to what us old blokes have witnessed through several generations.

There used to be moral codes of acceptable behaviours which don't seem to be observed today. Even fights were marquis of queensbury. Now they use chairs, palings, knives, bottles, or anything they can get hold of.

I have lost count of the amount of acquaintances who have been knocked out by large gangs of juveniles.

My young bloke was knocked out by some one he hasn't seen or met yet. He suffered a concussion. That's brain damage, and only time will tell if it was permanent. He has never raised a hand to anyone, and was open and friendly. He is now an angry surly prick that can't be told anything.

These events are far more life changing than are obvious.
I have lost count of the amount of patients I have nursed with brain damage or PTSD, anxiety etc due to assault.

I have a nonviolent philosophy, but I think it's time for an eye for an eye.

Worrier, I agree that the horse has bolted. It will take a hell of a lot of change to return to observation of moral codes, and it will need to be severe in order to work.

As for the rest of the world, there are certainly some violent places, but interestingly it seems to be the traditional cultures which enjoy the most respect and peace at a personal level, (despite some elements being at war with other cultures). (That should open a can of worms :)

The moral diaspora is complex, but antisocialism, narcisism, and psycopathy at personal levels seem to follow more populated and advanced societies.