NCJ Number
86654
Date Published
1981
Length
97 pages
Annotation
These proceedings include 11 papers on the relationship between alcohol and crime, the subject of a 1980 seminar held in Canberra, Australia.
Abstract
The participants included representatives of the judiciary, magistracy, legal profession, Aboriginal legal and welfare services, departments of attorneys-general, parole boards, probation authorities, police forces, men's and women's refuge workers, producers and sellers of liquor, temperance organizations, and charitable and religious welfare organizations. The participants used a broad sociological and psychological context to explore the role played by alcohol in the commission of offenses. The sessions considered the facilitating effect of alcohol in lowering inhibitions so as to increase recklessness or dangerousness. They also examined alcohol's direct and indirect roles in crime, the role of governments in alcohol use and misuse, and the effects of legislation which has decriminalized public drunkenness in New South Wales and elsewhere. Other issues examined included the relationship between alcohol and domestic violence and sexual offenses, the relationship between alcohol and the overrepresentation of Aborigines in the Australian criminal justice system, the extent to which considerations about alcohol affect sentencing decisions, and the legal implications of a recent court decision. The participants agreed on resolutions stating that alcohol products should be marketed with a label warning of the health hazards of excessive use, that the offense of drunkenness be removed from all Australian criminal statutes, and that the advertising of alcoholic beverages be banned from the electronic media. Additional resolutions, discussions of the papers, and a list of participants are provided.