Ministry of Justice, New Zealand

Legal background

The Sale of Liquor Amendment Act 1999 introduced a number of major changes that came into effect on 1 December 1999 concerning the minimum age that people may legally purchase and drink alcohol. Firstly, the legal minimum purchase age was lowered from 20 years to 18 years with one exception. Secondly, some offences involving minors became infringement offences where the person may either be prosecuted through the court system, or an infringement notice may be issued. A definition of 'evidence of age documents' was also introduced.

Scope of the report

This report (the fourth in a series) presents some statistics on the possible effects of the Sale of Liquor Amendment Act 1999, and focuses on the lowering of the purchase age. Most of the statistics presented are updates of those presented in the earlier reports, however, statistics included in the earlier reports are not included in this report if updated information was not available. A new statistical series of the number of liquor licences has been added in this report. The statistics presented are mostly limited to those statistics routinely collected on a national basis for various purposes, with information being available for up to five years following the law change. The statistics do not explicitly measure the impact of lowering the minimum legal purchase age. Rather, they are indicators, which, when assessed together, give some insight into the possible impact of lowering the purchase age. Changes in indicator levels over time may be due to factors other than lowering the purchase age, such as changes in Police practices or recording practices. For these reasons, these statistics represent only a partial picture of the likely impact of lowering the purchase age.

Alcohol availability

• The three indicators - the amount of alcohol available for consumption per person, the volume of alcohol beverage of various types available for consumption, and the number of liquor licences - show a trend of increased amounts of alcohol available and more places to drink and purchase alcohol.

Indicators of alcohol-related offending by minors

• Police dealt with more minors drinking or possessing alcohol in a public place in each year after the purchase age was lowered than in previous years. The increase in the amount of this type of offending dealt with by the Police after the law change was more than would have been expected based on the trend in apprehensions from 1995 to 1999. Part of the increase may have occurred because of changes in Police practice.

• The number of minors in restricted or supervised areas of licensed premises who were dealt with by the Police has shown a decreasing trend, with the figures between 2001 and 2004 being lower than those in all previous years. The numbers of such offenders who were dealt with by the Police each year between 2001 and 2004 were less than half the numbers each year between 1995 and 1996. The Police indicated that the decrease may be related to changes in Police practice.

• In each of the five years between 2000 and 2004 Police dealt with fewer minors purchasing liquor from licensed premises than they apprehended in previous years (1995 to 1999). Police identified some difficulties associated with the enforcement of this section of the Act. However, they noted that the difficulties were not new, and had not changed as a result of the 1999 Amendment Act.

• The number of managers, licensees or employees convicted for offences related to minors under the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 tended to decrease from 31 in 1995 to 10 in 2001. The numbers have fluctuated at a higher level than previously in the last three years (24 in 2004 – slightly less than the 1995 number). However, convictions provide only a partial picture of this type of offending as Police in different districts may use different practices to proceed against licensed premises.

Indicators of alcohol-related offending by minors and all ages - disorderly behaviour

Disorderly behaviour is used as an indicator because people committing disorderly behaviour offences may be likely to be under the influence of alcohol when the offence was committed.

• The upward trend in the number of apprehensions of under 18 year olds for disorderly behaviour shown prior to the law change continued between 2000 and 2003. The trend reflects an increase over the same time period for apprehensions of people of all ages for disorderly behaviour offences.

• The number of convictions of 18–19 year olds for disorderly behaviour continued to increase following the law change, although in the last four years the rate of increase has declined relative to other age groups. The trend reflects an increase over the same time period for convictions of people of all age groups for disorderly behaviour offences.

• The general increase in apprehensions and convictions for disorderly behaviour may be due to changes in Police practice.

Indicators of alcohol-related traffic offending by those under 20 years old and all ages

The three traffic indicators – percentage of drivers under 20 exceeding their legal breath alcohol limit, prosecutions for driving with excess alcohol, and numbers of drivers involved in crashes who had alcohol recorded as a factor – show different trends. One of the indicators shows no increase in young drink-drivers after the purchase age was lowered. But the other two indicators show increases in young drink-drivers after the purchase age was lowered.

• Between 1997 and 2004, 1% to 3% of those under 20 years old who were stopped at the roadside had excess alcohol readings. Because of the relatively small numbers of those under 20 years old in the sample each year, there can be quite large fluctuations from year to year.

• The number of those between 14 and 17 years old prosecuted for driving with excess breath or blood alcohol showed an increasing trend from 1997 to 1999. The upward trend continued in the five years following the law change.

• Between 1995 and 1999, the number of people 18 or 19 years old prosecuted for driving with excess breath or blood alcohol fluctuated. In each of the years after the law change the number of such prosecutions increased, and in 2004 was the highest recorded in the decade.

• The increase in prosecutions of young people for driving with excess breath or blood alcohol may have been influenced by changes other than lowering the purchase age, which may have made it easier to prosecute young people for this offence. It is not possible to quantify how much of the increase can be attributed to lowering the purchase age; however, it is likely that some of the increase can be attributed to young people having increased access to alcohol after the purchase age was lowered.

• Both the number and the percentage of 15–19 year old drivers involved in crashes who had alcohol recorded as a factor that contributed to the crash decreased between 1994 and 1999. Following the law change, the number and percentage continued to decrease in 2000. The numbers increased slightly each year between 2001 and 2003, although the 2003 figures were still much lower than the figures in 1994 and 1995. Between 2001 and 2003 the percentages fluctuated at a lower level than the level between 1994 and 1995. The decrease may have been influenced by activities designed to target drink-drivers. The increase in the numbers between 2001 and 2003 may have occurred because young people had increased access to alcohol after the purchase age was lowered.

Health indicators of alcohol-related harm for minors and all ages

• After the minimum legal purchase age was lowered, publicly funded hospitalisations of young people where the primary diagnosis was alcohol related continued the increasing trend since 1997 until 2002. (The proportion of all alcohol-related hospitalisations for young people also increased in the same period.) In 2003, these trends continued for those between 18 and 19 years old, but for those between 15 and 17 both the number and proportion decreased. (Some of the increase may be due to some hospitals including Emergency Department patients from 2000.)

Educational indicators of alcohol-related harm to minors

• Although there was no statistical information available on schools and alcohol before the law change, the available statistics suggest that alcohol does not appear to be a major reason for students being suspended or stood-down from school in the five years following the law change.

Indicators of age-verification practices

• Results from the three Auckland Pseudo Patrons Projects show that in 2004 just over half of the off-licensed premises surveyed sold alcohol to the pseudo patrons without ID, a significant increase from 2003 where the proportion was just under half. Between the previous surveys (2002 and 2003) there had been a significant decrease in the proportion.

• In each year staff at grocery shops were the most likely to sell alcohol to 18 year olds without ID, as 80% of the visits in 2002 and 71% of the visits in 2003 and 2004 resulted in sales.

• In 2004, the use of signage that alcohol cannot be sold to those under 18 years old, and signage that ID may be requested from those who look under 25 years old, was approximately the same as in 2003. The proportion in 2003 was a significant increase from the proportion in 2002.

Conclusions

The statistics presented in this report show a mixed picture of the possible impact of lowering the purchase age. Some of the indicators, for example minors drinking or possessing alcohol in public places, prosecutions of young people for driving with excess breath or blood alcohol, and crashes where alcohol was recorded as a factor, indicate that the change in legislation may have had a detrimental effect on young people's drinking behaviour. Other indicators, for example apprehensions and convictions for disorderly behaviour, show an increasing trend after the change in legislation, but the changes are a continuation of trends established before the law changed. Some of the changes in the indicators have been influenced by other factors, e.g. changes in Police practice or traffic enforcement, which are difficult to quantify. Overall, it is not clear to what extent any of these changes can be attributed to the changes in the legislation.