Alcohol, the student and the law:

For most students their encounters with the police will usually centre around alcohol. Either they’ve had too much or they’ve had the misfortune to come into contact with someone else who has. If you’re sensible then such encounters can probably be avoided but realistically we can’t all be sensible all of the time.

Unless the situation is completely out of control then most Universities appear to take the view that problems caused by alcohol on University premises can be dealt with by University staff. Bar staff and security staff will usually try out any disturbance and then University will take a decision if those involved should be punished in some way. Possibly by way of a fine or being barred from the establishment involved. If the University deal with the matter in house then although they may keep details of the incident on your personal file, you will not end up with a criminal record.

 Problems for the drunk student really arise when they take their drinking out onto the streets. If you are drunk and causing problems in a pub or club or wandering round town then it is not your University who are going to be involved if your antics get out of hand but the police. The police will be looking out to see if you are upsetting members of the public or putting them at risk. They will be looking to see if you are causing destruction to property or chancing a “steal” to decorate your student house with.  If you are then you could be committing a public order offence and even theft and the police would be perfectly within their rights to stop you, question you and arrest you.

Many police take the view that “we were all young once sonny” and as long as you’re not being a complete idiot will more than likely give you a ticking off and send you on your way. They don’t want to spend their night shift dealing with you when they could be doing something far more constructive. However it’s sometimes a little difficult to prevent yourself from being a complete idiot if you’ve spent the evening doing tequila shots. If you wind the police up or become aggressive then they are more likely to take the matter further. They will have justified fears that you’re going to do yourself harm or cause damage or hurt someone else and if they have “reasonable suspicion” then they will arrest you.