Wealth link to alcohol crime
Richest rural communities have higher rates of alcohol-related offenses in the poorest regions, according to results from the largest randomized controlled trial ever conducted in alcohol consumption, risk factors and interventions in rural NSW.
The study also found that traffic accidents related to alcohol that result in injuries are twice as common in rural areas. Deaths related to alcohol are seven times more common – about one death every two years by 10,000 people.
Researchers from UNSW’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Center (NDARC) and Newcastle University, found that bars and clubs the city has high rates of alcohol-related offenses.
The five-year action of alcohol in Rural Communities (AARC) has studied 20 communities in NSW since 2005.
Co-leader Professor Anthony Shakeshaft presented the findings this week at the Annual Symposium NDARC.
“Our study found that compensation for the obvious benefits of higher socioeconomic status appear to be higher rates of alcohol-related offenses,” he said.
The results indicate the need for a combination of interventions, rather than focusing on individual interventions work in isolation.
“At the Commonwealth level, interventions to alcohol prices of the impact on disposable income – or introducing a minimum price or some sort of graduated tax – seem promising. Follow-up state and local governments could try to limit the per capita number of pubs and clubs.
“While the chances of intervention are not new, this study begins to establish an evidence base for the relative weight of effort that can be applied to different strategies,” Professor Shakeshaft said.
Tags: alcohol, alcohol research centre, alcohol-related, alcohol-related crime, communities, crime, drug and alcohol, higher, higher rates, interventions, pubs and clubs, rates of alcohol-related, rural
