Drunks Avoid Fine with Millionaire Quiz
;)
;)
South Wales police are hoping to combat binge-drinking with a new quiz scheme.
Police in South Wales are set to initiate a trial scheme that would see inebriates receive lesser fines if they can complete a multiple choice quiz.
The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? inspired quiz would be given to people who are acting in an anti-social way, such as being drunk and disorderly. Offenders will be offered a unique “50-50″ choice: either pay the normal £80 on-the-spot fine; or pay a reduced fine of £40 and take the educational quiz.
Accepting this second option would also eliminate the prospect of having the offence recorded on police databases. South Wales police are hoping the initiative will help to stamp out minor alcohol related incidents, and educate people regarding the dangers of binge-drinking.
Max Davies, Chief Inspector at South Wales police told the BBC: “We are all familiar with scenes of drunkenness in town centres on weekends and we have to start getting people to think about the consequences of this over-indulgence if we are to tackle this in the long term.”
Mr Davies continued: “Slapping a fine on a person is a quick fix but will it make them stop and think about changing their behaviour? We have to address the root causes of the problem if we are to see an end to our binge-drinking culture in the long-term.”
The quiz would also be followed up with a series of learning sessions, set in a classroom environment, which would aim to educate the offenders to the harmful effects of alcohol from social problems to health issues.
The scheme was previously used in Hertfordshire. When Police there “asked the audience” of offenders if the Millionaire initiative had been useful, two-thirds of those who took part admitted the educational programme had helped them reduce their alcohol consumption.
