Fake ID double standards
First the good news. It is refreshing to hear the report that Home Office minister Alan Campbell is to look at what can be done to combat the use of false documents such as fake ID.
But what an opportunity has been missed to take up the useful idea from Hereford that the fixed penalty notice could be used against youngsters.
If ever there was a case for slapping a quick deterrent fine and so avoid the paperwork of prosecution, it was this one. At present, the dice are loaded against the licensee. He risks a criminal prosecution or, even worse, loss of his licence, if he accepts a cunningly-produced proof of age from a teenage customer. The young fraudulent customer risks nothing.
The statistics show that hardly any youngster is prosecuted for attempting to buy alcohol. There are probably more volunteer test purchasers out there, helping the police and trading standards, than there are those who have been hauled before the courts.
The police are notably reluctant to go against juveniles in any case, but it seems that they share the view that it is up to the licensee and his staff not to serve in any case, and that they ought to know the difference between a fake proof-of-age document and a real one.
The main plank of the Home Office refusal to look at on-the-spot fines for this is that "offences involving fraud are too serious for this form of disposal". Too serious? They are not taken seriously enough, by anyone except the licensed trade. A young person in possession of a fake ID document in a pub is clearly going to try and use it to buy alcohol underage. You do not need a fake document if you are over 18: you can use a real one.
In any case, when does the existence of the fake come to light? That's right — when they try and buy a drink. And what is that? It is an offence against the licensing laws. A criminal offence. For which they can either be prosecuted or, quite reasonably, could be issued with an on-the-spot fine by the very same police and trading standards officers who regularly pop around with willing teenagers in tow to catch unsuspecting licensees.
It strikes me that this is a case of double standards by the Home Office. They do not wish to take the spotlight away from the bad boys of the licensed trade, which includes anyone who accidentally sells to a youngster on just one or two occasions. There's where the "true" criminality lies, according to the policy men, so let's keep it that way.
Changing attitudes
Until you start to persuade youngsters that this is not a game, that using a fake age
document is in fact a serious matter that can affect someone else's livelihood and that anyone found doing it will have to face a fine or a prosecution, then you will not change attitudes.
Kids will go on thinking that a clever computer print-out that you can proudly show to your mates is a badge of courage and nothing to be worried about.
The Home Office should think again. This idea is an excellent one and should at least be trialled to see if it acts as a deterrent. It would at least act as a crumb of comfort to a beleaguered trade faced very shortly with the prospect of loss of licence after just two underage sales. If this goes on, the youngsters will soon run out of pubs in which to try their luck!
