The Carlsberg-sponsored Night Raven programme aims to help young abusers of alcohol, writes Brian O'Connell
There are few more enjoyable ways to spend an afternoon than cycling around the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Clearly marked cycle lanes are everywhere while the flat lie of the land makes it an enjoyable pursuit for even the most amateur of cyclists.
The city of the Little Mermaid and Tivoli Gardens has a carefree attitude, with locals taking advantage of the many public parks and open spaces that inhabit every city block.
Yet hang around a while and a different scene emerges, with many of the city's open spaces colonised by hordes of drunken youths, making them no-go areas for locals after dark.
Despite its affluence and relatively low levels of social inequality, Denmark is facing an alcohol abuse crisis, with its young, to borrow a phrase, "probably" the worst alcohol abusers on the Continent.
According to an EU survey last year, among 15-year-old Danish boys and girls, 70 per cent have been drunk at least twice in the past year, while 89 per cent of 16 year olds have been inebriated. Sounds depressingly familiar?
Not unlike Ireland, Denmark has a crisis on its hands, fuelled in part by a minimum purchasing age of 16 (up from 15 some years back), low beer and liquor taxes (beer costs just 67 cents a bottle), and liberal advertising laws.
"We are the country of Tuborg and Carlsberg, and images of these products are everywhere," says Dr Pernille Due, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen,
"I went to see Harry Potter- the audience was mostly children - and there was advertising for Smirnoff and Tuborg.
"Denmark stands out when it comes to problem drinking, but there is not a strong will on the part of government to handle this problem."
I recently visited Copenhagen with a delegation from the British government with responsibility for health in the UK's northwest. The idea was to witness first hand how one Danish brewery is grappling with the growing crisis.
At Carlsberg's European Headquarters at Valby, just outside Copenhagen, Eric Thorsted is one of those helping to ease the brewing giant's social conscious.
Thorsted adopted the Night Raven programme in Copenhagen to help cope with the numbers of youths drinking on the city's streets.
Sponsored by Carlsberg and many other leading corporations, the programme involves hundreds of adult volunteers patrolling the streets at night in distinctive yellow jackets and offering advice and support to teenagers in need. They offer taxis home, point out the dangers of excess drinking and help intervene if teenagers are in danger.
Last year more than 50,000 volunteers gave their time to the programme in Denmark, and about 45 per cent of the overall budget is provided directly by Carlsberg.
"We generally try to avoid government funding," says Thorsted. "As well as the night-time work, we also work primarily in disadvantaged areas with families, where we help with parenting skills. We also help implement anti-bullying projects. Companies give up to two hours free per month for employees to do social work with families in need," he says.
Thorsted began the project more than 10 years ago, when he left his job as chief executive of a major insurance company.
Night Ravens had already been successfully up and running in 400 cities in Sweden and 500 cities in Norway. In Denmark last year, there were just three reported assaults on the more than 50,000 volunteers.
"If you're there at night because you feel it is right to be there, then that gives you an advantage," says Thorsted, "you can then create an atmosphere of safety in the area you are in and help prevent violence, misuse and so on.
"We wear very recognisable luminous jackets so normally children come to us - we don't have to go to them. We're seen as a source of authority, sure, but as a source of positive authority."
The Night Ravens are present primarily to protect children who have already decided to misuse alcohol, not to address the reason why that abuse occurs in the first place.
In more cynical terms, they are a very visible marketing presence for Carlsberg in the fight against public disorder and drunkenness.
"I don't really accept that argument," says Thorsted. "We are made up of average adults - there are no Rambos or saviours in the programme. The oldest member is 88.
"We give each volunteer an ID card, which allows them to use buses and trains free when they are on duty. We can also provide insurance and all mobile phones are provided by the Lions Club."
During his decade in charge, Thorsted has noticed changes in the demographic of alcohol misusers.
"We used to focus on the 16-20 age groups, but for the past four years the focus is on 10-18 year olds. That is worrying."
He rejects firmly the accusation that the programme is a means for the brewery to fulfil its corporate/social remit without having to tackle the roots of alcohol misuse and feels that the programme could be adopted in Ireland if the will was there.
"I don't accept that this is some PR exercise from Carlsberg - it's not in their interests to have kids as young as 10 on the streets using their products improperly.
"They don't impose any restrictions on us on how we operate our programme, maybe because we're not affecting sales.
"In the Carlsberg offices here you will see posters everywhere telling employees to join the Night Ravens. They do so voluntarily to help their communities - that could happen in any country.
"There's no sinister plot behind it, it's just about putting good Samaritans on the streets."