MAGISTRATES have given warning that plans by supermarkets and petrol stations to sell alcohol round the clock could worsen drink-related violence and disorder.

They fear that unless tough enforcement measures are taken when drinking laws are relaxed in November, the constant availability of alcohol will lead to a rise in crime.

The concerns of the Magistrates’ Association, which represents 30,000 justices of the peace in England and Wales, coincide with the senior judges who said that the laws will prompt an increase in domestic violence and serious assaults.

Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, promised that the impact of 24-hour drinking would be closely monitored. She told BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour: “We will keep its effect, once it’s actually in place, very closely under review.The policy is not wrong and . . . time will prove it right.”

From November, supermarkets, corner shops and petrol stations will be able to sell alcohol at any time of day.

Rachel Lipscomb, chairman of the Magistrates’ Association, said: “The present situation is already bad. There is a lot of drink-related crime which ranges from domestic violence and assaults resulting from altercations in or outside pubs to public order offences — groups of people leaving a pub noisily, behaving badly, urinating and being sick in people’s gardens that have an impact on a large number of people in a community area.” Mrs Lipscomb, who sits at Kingston Magistrates’ Court, a town that residents predicted could become the “booze-culture” capital of Britain, added that some cities were already “no-go” areas.

“The situation is already very bad. Drinking hours have become more flexible in recent years and we have seen the consequences in the courts.

“We have been very concerned about the link between drinking and crime for a long time and put those views forward when the licensing laws were being reformed.”

JPs had two particular concerns: the 24-hour sale of alcohol by convenience and petrol stores. “These are probably the most vulnerable. If a group of drunk youths comes in late at night, will they feel strong enough to turn them down?”

Magistrates were also concerned by cheap “happy-hour” drinks, “a factor that has contributed to the problems we face now, just as much as licensing hours”. Mrs Lipscomb said that it was difficult to estimate the impact of extended hours but, above all, there needed to be tough action against licensees who sold drinks to under-age or inebriated drinkers.

“We welcome the fact that there is now going to be a proper debate on this. But it’s a pity it was not earlier — the problem has been growing as licensing hours have been relaxed over the past few years. What we also want is much tougher enforcement where licensing laws are not being kept.”

She called for more closures of bars, revocation of licences and more use of alcohol treatment measures and education.

Awareness of drink-related crime had not grown as it had with drug-related crime. “But alcohol has a significant an impact. Some casualty departments have real problems on Friday and Saturday nights.”

John Howson, an Oxfordshire magistrate and former deputy chairman of the association’s licensing committee, said: “If you can buy at three in the morning, and that tips you over the edge where, without the extra drink, you might not have been, then you could get more crime.” The police and prosecuting authorities had to crack down, he added.

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