Effect on Juvenile Crime of Lowering the Drinking Age in Three Australian States

Abstract

Summary Lowering of the legal minimum drinking age to 18 years in two Australian States significantly increased male juvenile crime by 20–25%. In the case of a third State the limited data available yielded similar results. Particularly as the above increases were over and above those for between‐State control groups of the same age, and older control groups within the same State, the findings appeared to be valid. For the females the results varied from State to State. From the view point of preventing alcohol‐related juvenile crime, a 20 or 21 year legal minimum drinking age is preferable to an 18‐year‐old limit.

Approaches to preventing alcohol‐related problems: the experience of New Zealand and Australia

“…Lowering of the age from 21 has been linked to increases in harm indices such as assaults, injuries from assaults, juvenile crime, drunkenness and road crash injuries [27,28]. Lowering of the age from 21 has been linked to increases in harm indices such as assaults, injuries from assaults, juvenile crime, drunkenness and road crash injuries [27,28].…”

“…Throughout Australia the drinking age is 18. Lowering of the age from 21 has been linked to increases in harm indices such as assaults, injuries from assaults, juvenile crime, drunkenness and road crash injuries [27,28]. The state acts lay down standard hours of opening, and in most states Sunday trading is permitted, but with restrictions on hours.…”

A Public Health Approach to the Prevention of Alcohol-Related Health Problems

“…Similar effects of lowering and raising the drinking age on both alcohol consumption and related problems, especially motor vehicle accidents, have been reported in the USA (16, 33, 43 , 45, 46, 60, 82, 165, 181, 193) and elsewhere (164) . It has been shown also that age limitations have an effect on age of first alcohol use, which is usually several years younger than the legal drinking age.…”

“…Most countries have age restrictions of some sort regarding the purchase and/or consumption of alcohol (96). Although the data are neither unflawed nor entirely consistent, there is considerable evidence that the lower the drinking age, the higher the consumption of alcohol (16, 45, 96, 162, 18 1, 193) and the higher the incidence of alcohol-related problems, particularly among teenagers (16,33,46,96,152,162,164,181). This was certainly the case in Ontario, Canada, following the lowering of the legal drinking age in 1971 from 21 to 18 years, the new age of majority.…”

Access to alcohol from licensed premises during adolescence: a longitudinal study

“…For example, in Italy where much of the harm experienced has been perceived to be related to a life-time of heavy drinking, rather than intoxication, and in which alcohol consumpdon rises to a peak in the ages 55-66 years (Allamani et al, 1995) the minimum drinking age is 16 but is not enforced. In contrast in cultures in which heaviest consumption occurs in younger ages, such as North America and Australasia (Temple & Fillmore, 1985-86j Commonwealth Department of Community Services and Health, 1990j Wyllie, Zhang & Casswell, 1993 and problems of alcohol-related violence (Ireland & Thommeny, 1992) and motor vehicle crashes are of major concern (Smith & Burvill, 1986;Wagenaar, 1987) the minimum legal drinking age is set between 18 and 21 years.…”