Glass in Pubs - Topical Blog 2

Glass in pubs…clubs…bars…where do you draw the line?
This is a hot topic in the media at the moment as there have been so many attacks, and some very serious.
There has been 67 attacks, just this year, in WA Clubs; Broken down: that’s 2 every week; or 9 every month.
What they are looking at doing now is implementing plastic drinking vessels as opposed to glass, but do the following statistics say that won’t work:
Stubby style bottles are used in 70% of glassings, pre mix bottles being the number 2 favourite after beer bottles. Only 30% of these slashings have involved actual glassware.
Commissioner O’Callaghan says it wont do anything; that the large majority of people who aren’t doing anything wrong shouldn’t be punished and forced to drink from plastic cups; but isn’t being slashed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time more of a punishment.
I mean really, change the glasses in the bigger pubs and clubs to plastic, and anyone who doesn’t like it and feels the need to be drinking from glass should consider an upgrade of venue and company kept perhaps.
The Commissioner has also stated his surprise that most slashings occur through a simple insult from person to another. It seems to me that alcohol and poor control are to blame for the rest. At what point do people who cannot control themselves need to have a little control taken for them?
Think about how much people were driving drunk for years, and yes I know we all say the Police are trying to make more money, but something had to be done with the ever increasing and disrespectful population.
The legal Blood Alcohol Content was dropped from 0.08 to 0.05 for fully licensed drivers, and from 0.02 to 0.00 for P-Platers, because quite simply, someone needed to take control of the situation because the individuals weren’t doing it themselves.
Taking control and handing out larger punishments shows results over time.
The Commissioner also believes that what is needed is to increase the punishment for the offence of cutting someone with glass. Excellent suggestion. We just need the courts to actually follow that belief as well and hand out the higher end of the punishment, rather than the lower, if they can find the space in our jam packed jails, that is!
But can’t we try ‘prevention is better that cure’ as well. How about a multiple attack on the situation?
Yes, increase the punishment in case it does occur, but let’s try to remove the risk first.
That option saves 2 peoples skin, literally. The poor person who would have been slashed is no longer in the situation where he lives the rest of his life having his face scarred up, and the would-be offender can live the rest of his life not in prison!
And that also saves the tax payers a heap of money, as the cost to keep just one prisoner every year is in excess of $50,000. I am sure that money could be better invested.
And what about the cost of the insurance for the ‘Victim of Crime’ claim that the injured person is entitled to.
And then of course, the people who had been waiting at the hospital to go through for the last 2 hours, and got sent to the end of the line when the Victim of Crime arrives to be sewn back together.
Or the old lady, waiting for an ambulance that has to wait even longer as the ambulances is tied up with another slashing.
And then there’s all the court costs and time wasted because one idiot can’t handle his booze and control his anger.
One action has many reactions, so just avoid the action.
Stabbing someone with a knife style weapon carries a much more serious punishment; is there that much of a difference?
Another suggestion made is to have the bars and clubs clean up the empty glasses faster to avoid them being used as weapons. Again, excellent choice, but really, if someone insults you and you want to glass them, you will use your own half consumed drink, wont you?
How about a total glass ban?
That would mean all drinks are served in plastic cups, from premixes, to all beers, wines and the rest.
I am sure the producers of these drinks would not be too happy as they want everyone carrying their brand of beer around, but safety should be the ultimate concern.
People uproar in the short term, but you just get used to it. Nobody likes change, but unfortunately there are some that have ruined it for others.
Think about the other issues you find with glass in clubs. Broken glass on the floor, girls getting cut feet, the poor bar staff trying to get in amongst the dance floor and clean it up while there are 300 screaming drunks dancing and jumping around.
What we are looking for here is Harm Minimisation! And shouldn’t that come from a little bit of RSA, Responsible Service of Alcohol.
Really, you don’t want to be holding the owners and workers of these places legally responsible for everything that happens and some of the RSA restrictions can be a little daunting for an employee having to use their own judgement. But if someone is clearly drunk, it is no longer about how much money can be made, it is about the safety of that person, and the people around them.
Let’s try and eject these people before these serious slashing incidents occur.
Only recently have the police started to actually keep records of glass slashings as the incident; before coming under the umbrella description of GBH, or Greivous Bodily Harm, which applies to many styles of attacks when an individual is left with damage to their body.
That is how serious the problem has gotten and we are now becoming more aware of it!
Awareness=Reaction=Action=Results