Another city introduces night restrictions on alcohol sales. Will include shops and gas stations

Szczecin councilors voted for a resolution on introducing a night ban on selling alcohol. In the opinion of the authorities, the new regulations, which are to come into force during the holidays, will improve the safety and quality of life of residents.

According to the resolution on the so -called night prohibition, Between 23 and 6, it will be forbidden to sell alcoholic beverages intended for consumption outside the place of sale in the commune of Szczecin. The ban includes shops and e.g. gas stations, and does not apply to restaurants, pubs and other catering establishments.

22 councilors voted in favor of the resolution, there were six councilors against, and three did not take part in voting.

The new regulations will enter into force two weeks from the date of publication in the Official Journal of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The resolution adopted on June 17 will now be transferred to the voivode, who has 30 days to assess the new local law.

Councilors of the Civic Coalition and the OK Polska Club supporting the night prohibition argued that Limiting the availability of alcohol at night will reduce the number of offenses and crimes, such as disturbing public order, vandalism, fights, robberies.

Ewa Jasińska (KO), chairwoman of the RM Health and Social Welfare Committee, emphasized that the statistics of the Szczecin police and city guard speak of 20,000 interventions (in 2024) related to alcohol abuse. She noted that the night prohibition brought positive results in other Polish cities. “In Krakow, which introduced such a restriction in 2023, the number of police interventions fell by 47 percent.” – said Jasińska.

She noted that the resolution is in line with the Act of Entrepreneurs and the Act on Upbringing in Sobriety. “We are talking about 20 stores in the city of Szczecin, i.e. a negligible number of entrepreneurs and a negligible impact on the city's budget,” she emphasized. “Introducing such restrictions is not a fight against addictions, it is a struggle for the safety of residents,” she added.

Several entrepreneurs from alcohol sales came to the session of the city council. On their behalf, Magdalena Tarka spoke, emphasizing that sales restrictions would cause “reduction of full -time jobs”. “Instead of prohibitions, let's put on prevention,” she appealed. She estimated that the ban would “hit” small, private stores that are difficult to compete with discount stores and supermarkets.

In conversations with PAP, entrepreneurs explained that in their opinion the ban should be introduced from the new calendar year so that they could prepare for changes. They suggested that prohibition be in force from 1 am, when this is the most police intervention.

During the voting of the resolution, only the PiS club introduced discipline. Six councilors were “against” (one left the session room), despite the fact that in May this year. PiS councilors declared that they were supporting the night prohibition. On Tuesday, the chairman of the club Krzysztof Romianowski said that the councilors changed their minds because they were asked by entrepreneurs and people “afraid of losing their jobs”.

The chairman of the OK Polska Club Marek Kolbowicz emphasized that The resolution “is not against someone, but is for someone.” “For residents who reported the problem that they cannot function normally at places where alcohol is sold. Will it give us something? It is difficult for us to say, but we promised the residents a thing before the election and we just want to realize it,” explained Kolbowicz.

There are over 600 alcohol stores in Szczecin (with restaurants, bars, pubs, etc. There are about 3,000 concessions). They must be located at least 100 m from protected places, e.g. schools, churches, addiction treatment centers.

In the years 2018-2024, about 180 municipalities in Poland introduced the night prohibition. In 30 cases, the restriction applies only to part of the commune or city. Local governments from the following voivodships: Mazowieckie, Lesser Poland and Greater Poland adopted most such provisions. Among the large cities, the night ban, throughout the area, introduced, among others Kraków, Bydgoszcz, Biała Podlaska and Gdańsk. On the other hand, prohibition only in Śródmieście, in the old town, applies, among others in Poznań, Wrocław, Rzeszów, Katowice, Bielsko-Biała and Kielce. (PAP)

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