The Home Office has unveiled a new initiative to reduce the number of alcohol-fuelled attacks in the UK.
‘Safe’ pint glasses are being prototyped and if plans run smoothly, they will be introduced into British pubs within months.
There are approximately 87,000 attacks per year involving a glass or bottle, which are said to cost around £100 million. These costs include NHS, police and court expenditures.
Glasses and bottles are the most common weapon in Britain after a knife. The new ‘safe’ pints have been designed by researchers who have incorporated new, high-tech ways of using glass. They are intended to have a longer lifecycle while at the same time designed not to break when dropped. This will therefore decrease the chances of glasses being used as a weapon, which would ultimately lead to potentially significantly fewer attacks. This would obviously mean that less injuries would be caused.
The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, has described these new measures as “an important step forward”; however, he does admit that it will never be the only way to prevent violence of this sort.
The new plans come after the Conservatives announced this month that the current system of “units” should be abandoned.