A community in Scotland has seen anti-social behaviour drop by almost 60% after a ban on alcohol sales to under-21s.
A community in Scotland has seen anti-social behaviour drop by almost 60% after a ban on alcohol sales to under-21s.
Off-sales in both Cupar in Fife and the neighbouring village of Springfield have trialled a voluntary restriction on the sales of drink on Friday and Saturday night.
And police there have seen a fall in offences of almost 45% since the scheme started, with a drop of just under 60% in the number of anti-social crimes.
The Scottish Government has put forward proposals for a national under-21s sales ban in off-licences as part of measures to cut alcohol-fuelled crime and health problems.
The move has been backed by doctors, but has been criticised by some opposition politicians, retail chiefs and students groups.
Today public health minister Shona Robison said the scheme in Cupar showed such initiatives could make a big difference to people's quality of life.
Ms Robison said: "I think there are huge long term health benefits from cutting down on alcohol intake and, for young people, delaying the age at which they start drinking regularly in order to develop a more mature relationship with alcohol.
"But what this pilot shows is that, when the police, retailers and residents work together we can have a huge impact on anti-social behaviour for the good of the whole community."
The minister continued: "Raising the off-sales alcohol age to 21 is just one of our proposals to tackle alcohol misuse, which costs Scotland more than £2.25 billion per year.
"We've also suggested having a minimum price for a unit of alcohol to end 'pocket money pricing' of some high-strength drinks and a social responsibility fee for some retailers.
"Taken together, we think our proposals could help bring about the cultural shift in attitudes to alcohol we think is needed, in order for Scotland to reach its full potential."
Inspector Craig Dewar, from Fife Police, said the Cupar initiative was based on a previous scheme in Armadale, West Lothian.
In a bid to tackle problems of under age drinking and youth disorder in the community, Insp Dewar led a series of meetings with local off-sales retailers.
That resulted in the pilot scheme, which began on June 27 and runs to August 2, being put in place.
Insp Dewar said: "The object of this trial is to disrupt the supply of alcohol to under age persons and have a positive impact on the quality of life of Cupar residents.
"Compared to the crime levels of the three weeks leading up to the start of the campaign, there was a 58% reduction in the number of calls to the police concerning anti-social behaviour, with a 44% reduction in the commission of anti-social crimes."
But he added: "The success of the scheme is primarily due to the support of the retailers in Cupar and the neighbouring village of Springfield, who have been 100% behind it."
Local businessman Paul Caira, 43, welcomed the scheme.
Mr Caira, who owns the Central Cafe in Cupar, said: "We had a lot of young kids hanging around outside the cafe and it was very intimidating for the customers, especially in the evenings.
"We're now not selling to under 21s on a Friday and Saturday between 4pm and 10pm and I've really noticed the difference. Now, there are hardly any young people hanging around on the streets and the ones you do see are not under the influence."
He added he believed the scheme had also cut down on the number of older teenagers who were buying booze for younger friends.
Councillor Andrew Rodger, the chair of Fife Council's Licensing Board, also praised the pilot scheme.
He said: "We welcome initiatives such as this and it's terrific to see it has been such a success.
"This scheme in Cupar tackles two main areas - protecting children from harm and preventing public nuisance and disorder and it is a model I hope other areas in Fife choose to follow."
