Closing Liquor Stores Early to Prevent Crime in Alberta

Original Air Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Posted with the permission of ACCESS TV and Alberta Primetime.
From the website: “Edmonton has now broken its record for homicides in a single year, and as that murder rate continues to balloon, police suggest closing liquor stores at midnight in certain neighbourhoods would help curb violent crime. Police say the strategy of alcohol limits has already reduced crime in other Alberta communities, but critics call it a band-aid solution that will only push crime and addicts into other neighbourhoods. Is a partial prohibition of alcohol an effective way of curbing crime? Is alcohol the root of the problem? Could the concept of wet shelters make a difference? We talk with Fred Rayner, former Edmonton Police Chief and current President of Rayner Consulting; and Chris Hay, Criminologist and Executive Director of the John Howard Society.”