Reducing harm caused by alcohol

News

Research into fall in violence

Today, Tuesday 4 June 2019 the Scottish Government published figures on the 'Recorded Crime in Scotland: Attempted Murder and Serious Assault 2008-09 and 2017-18'. 

While we're seeing a welcome drop in the number of young people involved in serious violent crime in as well as a general reduction in serious assault and attempted murder cases between 2008-09 and 2017-18, alcohol is still very much a factor in violent crime.

Commenting on the publication, Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland said, "Alcohol doesn’t cause violence – and is never an excuse for it – but it can exacerbate it. From these figures we can see that alcohol is still very much a factor in crime in Scotland with almost two-thirds of serious assaults in 2017-18 having involved drink. Every act of violence can be life-changing for the people involved and more needs to be done to prevent the negative impact that alcohol has on individuals, families and communities. Alcohol Focus Scotland would like to see clear action to tackle the widespread availability of alcohol in our communities. We’re seeing more places licensed to sell alcohol - from corner shops to cinemas and coffee shops - and the easier it is to get hold of, the more we are likely to drink, and the more harm we will experience.”

Read the full report.