Police suggests that beer should be counted as vodka
A bottle of beer drunk in the park may cost you 310 thousand BRB. The fine “for drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages in the street” has been suggested by the Ministry of Internal Affaires of Belarus. The police have promised to deal with cafes afterwards. The head of the department of civil order Alyaksandr Barsukou explained ERB what had made the police start counting beer as vodka. And they even sent the appeal to the Council of Ministers:
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “Yong people are addicted to beer and they drink it everywhere. But look at the concentration of alcohol in it! There is very strong beer, they can drink two bottles of it and will not need anything else. Beer is a fermentation product containing from 0.5% to 7% of ethyl alcohol. That’s why we suggest that it should be considered an alcoholic beverage and that responsibility for drinking it in the street should be introduced”.
The policemen agreed that people could drink beer in a bar or a café and then go out and start “disturbing the public order”. But they won’t close them down. Not yet.
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “Let us stop this first and then we will deal with that. Then we will recall what the culture of drinking is. It should be done step by step.
When the suggested measure is introduced it will become clear how effective it is. According to the head of the department it will happen several months after it is implemented:
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “We will use the system for a couple of months and then we’ll analyze the changes. We will compare the number of crimes in that period and in the previous one. We will take the public opinion into account. We will feel the effect of the measure immediately”.
The policeman promised that they would not fine everybody even when the measure was implemented. They will be selective.
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “We do not consider it as an end in itself. A policeman pronounces a warning and if the person reacts to it adequately there will be no problem. There can be different situations. A guy and a girl may be sitting and drinking. If the policeman return half an hour later and they are still there, swearing and spitting and drinking then they will be fined according to the law”.
Photo by — Nick Harrison
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “Yong people are addicted to beer and they drink it everywhere. But look at the concentration of alcohol in it! There is very strong beer, they can drink two bottles of it and will not need anything else. Beer is a fermentation product containing from 0.5% to 7% of ethyl alcohol. That’s why we suggest that it should be considered an alcoholic beverage and that responsibility for drinking it in the street should be introduced”.
The policemen agreed that people could drink beer in a bar or a café and then go out and start “disturbing the public order”. But they won’t close them down. Not yet.
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “Let us stop this first and then we will deal with that. Then we will recall what the culture of drinking is. It should be done step by step.
When the suggested measure is introduced it will become clear how effective it is. According to the head of the department it will happen several months after it is implemented:
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “We will use the system for a couple of months and then we’ll analyze the changes. We will compare the number of crimes in that period and in the previous one. We will take the public opinion into account. We will feel the effect of the measure immediately”.
The policeman promised that they would not fine everybody even when the measure was implemented. They will be selective.
Alyaksandr Barsukou: “We do not consider it as an end in itself. A policeman pronounces a warning and if the person reacts to it adequately there will be no problem. There can be different situations. A guy and a girl may be sitting and drinking. If the policeman return half an hour later and they are still there, swearing and spitting and drinking then they will be fined according to the law”.
Photo by — Nick Harrison
