April 15 marked the launch of the National Alliance Against Alcohol Related Violence, an initiative being spearheaded by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation, with support from over 25 organisations, including the Australian National Council on Drugs, We Help Ourselves, the Salvation Army and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

This is the first time that so many organisations have linked together to highlight this issue.

New statistics released last week from Roy Morgan research paints an extraordinary picture of Australians’ disquiet about the topic, and shows public concerns about alcohol related violence has now reached an all time high.

The new research shows close to one in five Australians have revealed they or someone in their life has been affected by alcohol related violence.

Roy Morgan research also shows that 14 million Australians are now concerned about alcohol related violence and 10 million Australians are more concerned about the issue of alcohol related violence than they were three years ago.

Over 10 million Australians say they are concerned about alcohol related violence when visiting licensed premises and entertainment districts after dark.

Senior Constable Murray Pownall of Esperance Police said alcohol related violence has a huge impact on the community, with some 70 to 80 per cent of violent incidents police responded to being caused by or contributed to by alcohol.

“Alcohol related violence has always been an issue in Esperance,” Sen Const Pownall said.

“The mindset is that alcohol is legal so it’s OK to go over the top.”

Sen Const Pownall said that the best solution to the problem was drinking in moderation and taking responsibility for your own actions.

“The only person that can control alcohol consumption is yourself.”

Sen Const Pownall said he would also encourage licensed premises to take a more proactive approach to the responsible service of alcohol.

“Licensed outlets are within their rights to ban serving individuals alcohol, or to ban someone from the premises, and they have the full support of the police if they wish to do so.

“It’s only a small percentage of people who are ruining the night out for everyone else, but if you take them away it reduces the risk of other issues, such as drink driving and violence.”

Shire President Ian Mickel said the responsibility fell with the community to handle alcohol.

“It’s a community issue, we can’t have policemen on every corner.”

Mr Mickel said it was important for the community to keep an eye on the issue, and encouraged people to look after each other when out at night.

“You should look after your friends, make sure they are safe, and make sure they don’t want to be involved in violent situations.”

Mr Mickel said that while the alcohol culture in Esperance is not as bad as Kalgoorlie yet, the Shire will continue to monitor the situation.

“Council would be open to support police in calling for restrictions on trading hours for licensed premises, but I don’t think we have quite reached that stage yet.

“The responsibility falls on the operators of those establishments to make sure that doesn’t happen.”