Toll of teenage drinking revealed

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Title – Toll of teenage drinking revealed
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 28th March 2008

The fact that a third of teenagers admitted to buying their own alcohol is certainly a problem for the licensed retail sector as much as it is for Trading Standards. Unfortunately all the responsible retailers are tarred with the same brush as those who flaunt the law through ignorance, arrogance or in increasing through fear of the consequences of not selling to underage children sometimes involved in gang activity and not frightened of using threats or violence to obtain alcohol.

The only solution is a joint approach; no one group can resolve these problems on their own. The police need to enforce existing laws, the local authority need to be strong on anti-social behaviour, schools and colleges need to educate, parents (unfortunately the source of much of the other two thirds of alcohol drunk by children) need to parent and the licensed retail sector needs to continue to become more professional.

There is simply no excuse for alcohol being sold to children, there is no circumstance where selling alcohol to anyone under 18 is legal. So the message is simple if you are under 18 you can not buy alcohol.

The popular 'challenge 21' system of ‘if you look under 21, you will be asked to prove you are over 18’ makes the role of staff working within the licensed retail sector easier, as they can request valid ID from anyone. These same staff have to be told that it is not optional to ask for proof of age, but mandatory. Does asking cause embarrassment to those staff? If so then they probably need more training, they need to understand the consequences of ignoring the rules and laws.

It is a popular misconception that it is down to the authorities to enforce the law; they certainly have a role to play, but it is for employers to enforce the law amongst their staff. If an employee sells to someone obviously under age without performing the appropriate checks as they have been taught, they the employer should be imposing sanction, verbal warnings, written warnings and ultimately dismissal. Your business can not afford to carry people who flaunt the law which can attract a £5,000 fine or forfeiture of the premises licence and / or the forfeiture of the personal licence holder’s licence.

The key is in training staff professionally and the licensed retail sector is starting to realise the value of professional training, not just to reduce the incidence of underage alcohol sales, but the added value professional training brings to their business and the additional profit well trained staff generate.
At Beyond The Blue we provide the portfolio of BIIAB courses including the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH), National Certificate for Designated Premises Supervisors (NCDPS) and for front line staff the Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR). We also offer the Award in Conflict Management (ACM) for those people working in areas where they face aggression and violence, as they try and enforce the law in relation to underage sales of alcohol.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk