Under-18 test purchase scheme rolled out
1 May 07
Use of youngsters to detect illegal alcohol sales goes Scotland-wide
Children under-18 can from today be used as test purchasers across Scotland to catch out licencees selling alcohol to those who are under age.
The scheme has been piloted in Fife since last year under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, with around 150 licensed premises reported to the licensing board - a failure rate of around 15% for off-sales and 19% for pubs and clubs.
Representatives of the licensed trade have sounded a warning note following the high number of licence suspensions by the Fife boards, which have generally adopted a "two strikes and you're out" approach.
Licensing law specialist Tom Johnston, writing in last month's Journal (http://www.journalonline.co.uk/article/1004077.aspx), suggested that boards were giving insufficient consideration to the "due diligence" defence which would apply on a criminal prosecution. So far very few prosecutions have been brought.
The details of the approach to be taken by different police forces is still to be ironed out, with forces probably not exercising their powers before the summer, but Strathclyde Police said it welcomed the new measures.