Minister calls for random breath tests

Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina has called for legislation that will allow the police to perform random breath tests on motorists.

She made the comment at an event to publicise legislation, recently approved by Parliament, which makes the consumption of alcohol by under-16s illegal. The new legislation also prohibits a third party from purchasing alcohol on their behalf. Previously the law only stipulated that the sale of alcohol to under-16s was illegal, placing the onus on the vendor.

The minister said she wanted to see more enforcement when it came to breath tests, which required that the police be given the legal tools with which to work. "Frankly, I think the current situation is a joke," she said.

The law currently forces the police to justify their use of the test, rendering random testing virtually impossible.

"What does this mean? That a car has to be swerving from one side to another for the police to make the driver take the test?"

The new legislation being publicised yesterday increases police power, but one of the people voicing reservations was the Police Commissioner himself. Minors caught drinking will be first warned by the police and, if they persist, charged formally in court where they can be fined or even sent for an "educational programme" or counselling.

The fact that youngsters will start going through the judicial system at such a young age, Police Commissioner John Rizzo said, may involve a labelling process that will have the opposite effect to that desired.

Otherwise, he said, he agreed with the spirit of the law and the fact that it has been made explicitly illegal to purchase alcohol for a minor.

The entertainment industry also came under fire, even though the law does not change its position much in terms of the fines stipulated for those who sell alcohol to minors.

The fine for selling alcohol to minors ranges from Lm100 to Lm500 for first-time offenders, going up to a maximum of Lm1,000 for those who persist.

Asked whether she thought this was too lenient given that alcohol was ultimately a profit-making commodity, Mrs Cristina said she thought the fines for first-time offenders were reasonable but added that she would like the licences of repeat offenders to be suspended.

The legislation comes in the wake of a series of surveys, particularly the European School Survey on Alcohol and other Drugs (Espad), which places Maltese youth quite high in the list in terms of the consumption of alcohol.