Sobering idea aims to break link between drink and crime

With a population of just 124,000, it doesn't have the profile of a Chicago or a New York and those who have heard of it know it best for its impressive waterfalls.

However, Sioux Falls is rural South Dakota's largest city and it has all the problems familiar to those who live in this country's urban sprawl. The gap between its wealthy inhabitants and the poor appears to be widening, for many the recession has bit hard and at least until recently it had a big problem with drink.

As the bill linked to alcohol- related offences spiralled, Judge Larry Long, depressed by seeing the same criminals in his courtroom week in week out, decided something had to be done. The result was the 24/7 Sobriety Programme.

"I was a frustrated local prosecutor, because alcohol was involved in every crime," says Long. "The sheriff and I set upon this plan, frankly out of desperation.

"These people were coming through the system time and again for the same reason. Having drunk too much, they had gone out and driven a car or beaten their wives.

"It was a lifestyle and we knew if we could get them separated from alcohol we could save them."

A pilot programme, where people convicted of a drink- related crime pay to be breath- tested twice a day instead of a prison sentence, was launched. Those tested positive were ordered back to court where they faced the prospect of custody.

The scheme was rolled out across the state three years ago and with officials claiming it has not only led to a 14 per cent drop in the prison population, but has also led to improvements in road safety, it has now caught the attention of the Deputy Mayor of London, Kit Malthouse, who is keen to try it in the capital where alcohol is an increasing problem.

"It's costing us a huge amount of money in terms of police time and NHS time," he says. "So we put our thinking caps on and scoured the world for a scheme that might help us.

"The way it works is somebody who is convicted, rather than go to prison, they go on this scheme where they get tested twice a day, so they can maintain employment.

"If they are found to have consumed alcohol, they go before a judge or magistrate, who decides what punishment they should have. The American version has had a 99 per cent compliance rate and it's self-financing because the people taking part pay a dollar per alcohol test.

"Drink is a great driver of crime in this city and this scheme is a cheaper and more cost-effective alternative to prison."

Back in South Dakota, many of those who have passed through the programme praise it for breaking their dependence on alcohol. However, not all reports have been quite so positive. Some describe it as invasive, massively inconvenient and crucially failing those with the most serious drinking problems who do regularly end up back behind bars.

In July, figures released by the UK Home Office estimated the total cost of alcohol-related crime and disorder to the UK taxpayer was between 8bn and 13bn. Last year, almost one million violent crimes were alcohol related, but while the 24/7 programme is attracting increasing attention from overseas, some fear it is a far too

simplistic solution to what is a very complex problem.

"The real issue we need to actually address is why people are drinking the way they are," says Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern.

"We already have schemes called alcohol offence referral schemes where the police, once they have picked someone up for a crime, refer them on to a service where that person received some advice, support and counselling if needed.

"I don't think you can stop it until you cure it.

"This approach is about coercing people into sobriety. A better

approach is to coerce people into treatment, because they have an alcohol problem and it's not one which disappears when they leave

prison."