Problematic Licensed Premises for Assault in Inner Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong
| Author | Suzanne Briscoe,Neil Donnell |
| Published date | 01 April 2003 |
| Date | 01 April 2003 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1375/acri.36.1.18 |
18 THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY
VOLUME 36 NUMBER 1 2003 PP.18–33
Address for correspondence: Suzanne Briscoe, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research,
GPO Box 6, Sydney NSW 2001, Australia. Email: Suzanne_Briscoe@agd.nsw.gov.au
Problematic Licensed Premises for Assault
in Inner Sydney, Newcastle
and Wollongong
Suzanne Briscoe
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Australia
Neil Donnelly
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, and National Drug Research Institute,
Curtin University of Technology, Australia
Evidence suggests that licensed premises are often associated with
alcohol-related harm, particularly violent crime. However, not all
licensed premises appear to be equal contributors to alcohol-related
problems in the community.This paper examines the distribution of
harmful outcomes across licensed premises in three inner-urban areas of
NSW. Police-recorded assault incidents on licensed premises in inner
Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong over a 2-year period were analysed.
In inner Sydney 12% of hotels and nightclubs accounted for almost 60%
of all assaults at hotels and nightclubs, in inner Newcastle 8% of licensed
premises accounted for nearly 80% of all assaults on licensed premises
and in inner Wollongong 6% of licensed premises accounted for 67% of
all on-premises assaults.The analysis also found that assault incidents on
licensed premises were concentrated late at night or early in the
morning and on weekends. Licence types identified as being the most
problematic for violence on licensed premises were hotels and night-
clubs. In particular, hotels with extended or 24-hour trading recorded a
greater number of assaults compared with those trading standard hours.
The implications of these findings for crime prevention and law enforce-
ment strategies are discussed.
In recent times, much media attention has been focused on crime associated with
illicit drug use and, consequently, resources have often been devoted to identifying
and targeting the associated problems. However, evidence from the most recent
National Drug Strategy Household survey (NDSH) suggests that Australians are
more than twice as likely to be victims of alcohol-related violence, such as verbal
and physical abuse, than to be victims of violent incidents related to any other drugs
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1999). The extent of alcohol-related
crim36_1 4/1/03 10:02 AM Page 18
harm in Australia is further evident by the fact that 6505 males and 2049 females
had to be hospitalised and a further 84 males and 40 females died as a result of an
alcohol-related assault in 1997 (Chikritzhs, Jonas, Heale, Dietze, Hanlin &
Stockwell, 1999). The consumption of alcohol is generally a socially acceptable
part of Australian culture but some drinking, particularly drinking at high-risk
levels, is associated with a considerable amount of harm to the community. The
present study investigates to what extent particular licensed premises contribute
disproportionately to this harm.
Criminological research, mapping the locations of crime, has repeatedly demon-
strated that crime is not randomly distributed but is concentrated in particular
locations (e.g., Block & Block, 1995; Jochelson, 1997; Sherman, Gartin & Berger,
1989). Similarly, research in the area of alcohol-related crime has highlighted the
importance of place in understanding alcohol-related violence and aggression
(Graham, West & Wells, 2000; Homel, Tomsen & Thommeny, 1992; Homel,
1999; Homel & Clark, 1994; Stockwell, Lang & Rydon, 1993). Licensed premises
are one type of drinking setting that is often found to be associated with a substan-
tial amount of alcohol-related harm. Geographical analyses in the United States
(US) have shown that areas with higher concentrations of liquor outlets also have
higher rates of violent crime, even when possible confounders such as levels of
unemployment, ethnic/racial makeup, income and age-structure are taken into
account (Scribner, MacKinnon & Dwyer, 1995). In Australia, a recent analysis of
the NDSH survey data reveals that more persons are assaulted by an intoxicated
person in pubs and clubs than in any other location (Teece & Williams, 2000).
Evidence from further studies conducted overseas and in Australia suggest that
not all licensed premises contribute equally to this harm but rather that a small
minority of problematic licensed premises are associated with the vast majority of
alcohol-related problems. In a study of taverns in the Milwaukee area, Sherman,
Rogan and Velke (1991, cited in Sherman, 1992) showed that only 12% of all
taverns produced over half of the 2019 violent offences reported between 1986 and
1989, while 40% of taverns in this area had no violent incidents over the same 4-
year period. These findings were also extended to the Kansas City area, where it
was found that only 10% of taverns produced half of the 2757 violent offences
reported between 1985 and 1989 and that 31% of taverns were associated with no
violent offences over this same time period.
In Sydney, Homel and Clark (1994) conducted an observational study of
licensed premises to examine the distribution of violent incidents across 45 sites
within 36 premises (some premises had several bars or entertainment areas which
permitted drinking). They found that over three quarters of incidents involving
physical aggression were concentrated in less than one fifth of the sites and that
two-thirds of the sites had no violent incidents recorded at all. This pattern of
clustering within premises was also found for aggressive incidents classified as non-
violent in nature. Considine, Walker, Wiggers, Daly, Hazell and Fairhall (1998)
report similar findings from a “linking” project in the Newcastle region which has
police collecting information on the last place of drinking for all crime incidents
assessed as being alcohol-related. The preliminary results from this project show
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PROBLEMATIC LICENSED PREMISES FOR ASSAULT
THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY
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