Published Articles

Dealing with Downtown Drunkeness (in Business Examiner)

The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has been participating in Victoria’s Downtown Late Night Task Force formed by the city’s mayor, Dean Fortin. The work of the task force is to consult with stakeholder groups on developing a short, sharp and focussed approach to dealing with the late night challenges in our downtown core.

For the chamber, the root problem is public drunkenness. It comes down to a couple of issues. We have a small group of incredibly irresponsible individuals who drink way too much and act in unacceptable and illegal ways. We also have a small number of establishments that appear to over serve patrons to a point of gross intoxication.

Clearly we need the ability to have more stringent enforcement of the liquor laws. Victoria has very few liquor inspectors and both patrons and employees know who they are. It’s no surprise that liquor infractions don’t occur when they are around. It would be of great value to empower police officers to be able to enforce the liquor laws with undercover officers and reintroduce the element of surprise into the equation.

We need to continue to support the work of our police department as they deal with these and other pressing issues. The work is ongoing on their part to build up staffing levels. Looking for ways to make their jobs easier or more effective can also be pursued. A measure that has made late night crowd management easier in some European cities is designating a limited number of taxi pick up locations during the time frame around bar closures. If that were the case people needing transportation would come to a few limited areas which can then be more easily policed during that time frame and potential problems can be identified earlier.

Then there is the issue of the drunken individuals. Although public education may assist in long term behavioural change, it is unlikely that the problem group in question – generally adults in their twenties and early thirties – actually don’t know that it’s not okay to destroy others’ property, fight and cause bodily harm, and urinate in public.

What is needed are real consequences for the actions of public drunkenness and disorderly behaviour. When fines are significantly less than the cost of going out for dinner or buying a concert ticket, we have a problem. Perhaps those who break windows and deface property should have to pay the hundreds of dollars their actions cost the businesses they damage. The penalties imposed by the courts need to be serious enough to provide a deterrent. Getting off with virtually no consequence for bad behaviour clearly leads to more bad behaviour.

The penalty deterrent argument holds true for establishments that over serve patrons. Just ask a sober person at a party if they can tell when others are over the edge. All servers in BC are required to take Serving it Right training and to learn the signs of over intoxication. It is their job and the responsibility of the establishment owner to abide by the law and refuse service to intoxicated individuals. Establishments that routinely over serve should incur significant consequences designed to prevent over serving in the future. 

The challenges of public drunkenness and disorderly behaviour are marring our otherwise vibrant downtown scene. Police have so many demands; it is a shame that so much of their resources are absorbed by a relatively small group of irresponsible people. As a community, let’s get behind assertive action to support a quick return to an enjoyable night life for all of us. 

Articles - 2010

Articles - 2009