Operational Policing
Alcohol misuse
Read the latest guidance on alcohol disorder zones and find out about the alcohol misuse enforcement campaign.
Alcohol harm
The vast majority of people enjoy alcohol without causing harm to themselves or to others. But for others, alcohol misuse is a significant problem, and one which carries a huge economic and social cost. In 2004, the government indicated that damage to health, crime and disorder, and loss of work productivity costs around £20 billion per year in England and Wales.
Some common harms caused by alcohol include:
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health harms to the individual
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close links to crime, disorder, anti-social behaviour, and other crime types such as domestic and sexual violence and drink driving
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loss of workplace productivity
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social harms, including problems within families, young people and communities
In 2007, the government outlined its approach to managing alcohol misuse in the ‘Safe. Sensible. Social, the next steps in the government’s alcohol strategy’ (new window)
Alcohol disorder zones
Alcohol disorder zones (ADZs) are used as a last resort to enable local authorities and the police to tackle high levels of alcohol related nuisance or disorder in a specified zone. Local authorities publish a voluntary action plan to reduce such nuisance or disorder. If the action plan is not sufficiently implemented, the local authority may charge certain alcohol license holders to pay for additional enforcement services.
Read the latest version of the alcohol disorder zones guidance, which was updated on 1 April 2008.
Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign
The Licensing Act 2003, which came into force on 24 November 2005, was designed to make going out at night more pleasurable for the vast majority of people who drink responsibly and who do not engage in criminal or anti-social behaviour. It was also designed to make it easier for authorities to deal robustly with problem premises, and to complement other measures within the criminal justice system designed to crack down on consumers and providers of alcohol who go beyond the boundaries of what is lawful or socially acceptable.
As part of the Government’s Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP), the Home Office, through the Police Standards Unit (PSU), ran a series of targeted Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns (AMECs) across England and Wales. These campaigns identified what works in terms of preventing alcohol-fuelled violence and regulating problem licensed premises.
A number of guidance documents related to these campaigns are linked below.
Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign
(Updated: 24 March 2006)
Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign 2
(Updated: 17 December 2004)
Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign
(Updated: 07 October 2004)
Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign Jill Dando Institute Problem Profile Guidance
A Practitioners' Guide to Dealing with Problem Licensed Providers
While problematic providers are in the minority within the alcohol licensed industry, their irresponsible actions, if not challenged, contribute to the alcohol-fuelled violence and disorder occurring in some of our communities. This guide builds on the previous PSU publication, Lessons from the Christmas 2003 Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign. It has been specifically designed for practitioners.
