Internal police documents reveal that alcohol inflicts twenty times more harm than methamphetamine, costing New Zealand approximately $7.8 billion annually.
Despite this less than one percent of police personnel are dedicated to reducing alcohol-related harm. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told state media he was aware of the significant impact of alcohol on crime and suggested new measures such as restricting bottle store hours and increasing alcohol prices. However, the police force currently employs just 84 Alcohol Harm Prevention Officers (AHPOs), with many juggling additional duties, and lacks a specific budget for addressing alcohol harm.
Documents released to state media show police had to apply to the Ministry of Health for money to train their staff on reducing alcohol harm because there was no budget for them to fund it themselves.
Coster said alcohol was a major factor in violent crimes, homicides, and family abuse, noting the challenge posed by the easy availability of cheap alcohol from off-licensed premises.
Andrew Galloway, Executive Director of Alcohol Healthwatch criticised the police for not prioritising alcohol harm reduction, calling the lack of dedicated budget “alarming.” He recommended the ‘targeting’ of problematic bottle stores in an effort to mitigate social and health issues linked to alcohol.
Image credit: Sergio Alves Santos
Blah blah blah….just a bunch oi politicised govt henchmen, that’s all the police are, for the most part, these days……too busy mistreating peaceful protesters, hounding independent journalists and protecting rainbow crossings, to worry about much else…..
It’s not the alcohol.
It’s the situation many folks are finding themselves in.
The damage successive governments have done to the web of society is increasingly showing.
Herding the victims into the justice corporation machine where they can be destroyed for their drunken “crime” is the objective, not reducing alcohol profits of the booze barons who own them.
These corporate security guards protect their corporate masters and their interests, NOT OURS.
WEAPONISED CORPORATE CULT SECURUTY GUARDS
You, Sir, make a lot of sense.
You have mastered the rabbit-hole question of “WHY”.