Violence down after English drink law change

Violent crime in England and Wales fell by 11 per cent at the end of last year amid a blitz by police on alcohol-related offences and despite a predicted surge following the introduction of extended drinking laws.

The Home Office said as well in the fall in violent crime, serious violence also dropped 21 per cent over the Christmas period compared to the previous year.

The figures related to a six-week campaign which started in November, when police targeted alcohol-related crime as part of a £2.5 million government scheme.

It coincided with changes to the licensing law which saw the end of the 11 p.m. closing time observed by most pubs since World War I.

The Home Office said data from the Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) showed police dealt with 33,358 offences and made 25,486 arrests.

It also said spot checks had found far fewer supermarkets and pubs were selling alcohol to under 18s.

"Delivering results, reducing violent crime and underage sales in local communities takes us another step closer to removing such unacceptable behaviour from our streets," Home Secretary Charles Clarke said.

"It is the government's intention to eliminate once and for all the sale of alcohol to children and it is encouraging to see our recent work with the supermarkets has resulted in an initial improvement." Much of the media had predicted the new licensing laws allowing all night drinking would fuel binge-drinking "anarchy" on Britain's streets.

Police said it would take longer to fully assess the impact of the extended drinking hours but the government said the figures were encouraging.

"We won't eradicate alcohol-related crime and disorder overnight, we know that," Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said.

"Thanks to the new licensing laws, the police and local authorities have joined forces to use tougher powers to deal with the problem at the source.

"We'll be checking over coming months to ensure the new laws are having a tangible, positive effect on the streets of our town and city centres."