Measuring violence in and around licensed premises: The need for a better evidence base

Abstract

There is clear evidence of the link between alcohol-related violence and licensed premises, particularly with consideration to the night-time economy of urban centres.The relationship between the occurrence of violence and the trading hours of outlets that sell alcohol (alcohol supply points) is a complex phenomenon. This paper highlights, through the use of analysis techniques and findings from an evaluation of the Licensing Act 2003, the lack of consistent information available to those tasked with managing night-time economy areas. It also details the importance of place (individual high risk premises and areas with concentrations of licensed premises), of time (both time of day and day of week), and the value of local contextual knowledge (e.g. the difference between granted and actual used licensed trading hours) in measuring and interpreting change. The paper outlines a range of information sources that are presently not collated in a consistent format that are crucial to making informed decisions for management of the NTE and areas with licensed premises, and argues that a consistent reliable evidence-base on alcohol supply points is a necessity for managing and policing such areas.3

Intra-week spatial-temporal patterns of crime

“…With clusters of alcohol establishments (places that sell and/or serve alcohol) tending to lead to clusters of violence (Grubesic and Pridemore 2011) and alcohol sales increasing on the weekend, this is not a surprising result. Specifically in the context of the United Kingdom and changes in the timing of alcohol sales, Newton and Hirschfield (2009) found that the impact on violence against person was more pronounced on the weekend as opposed to the weekday-these authors also found that particular alcohol outlets and the immediate spaces around them were important for understanding these changes. However, this spatial dimension is underinvestigated and is an obvious next step in this branch of research.…”

Editorial: crime patterns in time and space: the dynamics of crime opportunities in urban areas

“…Others have found high crime risk in some entertainment districts in the early evening, while other entertainment districts experience more crime problems after midnight. Crime near bars and pubs is significant on weekends, but such clustering may be barely noticeable on weekdays (Newton and Hirschfield 2009;Grubesic and Pridemore 2011). Crime on transit systems have been shown to be highly dynamic and related to surrounding environs with distinct patterns in both space and in time (Ceccato and Uittenbogaard 2014;Newton et al 2014).…”

Incidents of harm in European drinking environments and relationships with venue and customer characteristics

“…As suggested by other research, certain factors within a small number of bars and nightclubs can mean that alcohol-related problems such as violence are concentrated in those premises (Briscoe & Donnelly, 2003;Newton & Hirschfield, 2009); altering these factors can reduce or increase the risks of alcohol-related harms. Similar to other research (Graham et al, 2004;2006), our bivariate analyses identified a wide range of staffing, customer and environmental factors that were significantly associated with incidents of harm, such as glass on the venue floor, a permissive environment, and high levels of intoxication amongst patrons.…”

“…However, more minor incidents that are often accepted or unreported, such as patrons arguing or being too drunk to walk (Hesse, Tutenges, Pedersen, & Kofoed, 2012;Hughes et al, 2008;Tutenges, 2012), have the potential to escalate into more serious problems, including violence and unintentional injury. Research shows that a large proportion of alcohol-related problems in nightlife are often focused around a small number of venues (Briscoe & Donnelly, 2003;Newton & Hirschfield, 2009), suggesting that certain factors about these venues may impact on patrons' experience of harms. A wide range of individual, social and environmental factors have been shown to contribute to alcohol-related harm in nightlife venues.…”