The impact of breathalysers on violence and attitudes in the night-time economy
| Author | Hannah R. Farrimond,Neil Ralph,Katharine A. Boyd |
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370817749498 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2018
Article
European Journal of Criminology
2018, Vol. 15(5) 609 –631
The impact of breathalysers
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on violence and attitudes in
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the night-time economy
Katharine A. Boyd
and Hannah R. Farrimond
University of Exeter, UK
Neil Ralph
Detective Chief Inspector of Devon & Cornwall Police, UK
Abstract
The current study evaluates the efficacy and acceptability of a month-long pilot breathalyser
scheme for pubs and clubs implemented in the UK. During the initiative 818 people were
breathalysed. The number of violent crimes (excluding domestic abuse) decreased by almost
40 percent compared with the previous year, while violent incidents increased in a comparison
location. The Assault Related Injuries Database (ARID) of admissions to Accident and Emergency
showed there were fewer alcohol-related injuries during the initiative. Over 75 percent of
respondents to an online survey (n = 310) supported the breathalyser scheme. Results suggest
the breathalysers may promote moderate drinking and result in less violence. However, the
number of crimes is small and fluctuates over time, so more research is needed to demonstrate
whether this initiative is effective.
Keywords
Alcohol, breathalyser, night-time economy, violence
The night-time economy (NTE) in the United Kingdom has been identified as a primary
location for violence (Hobbs et al., 2003). In 2012 the coalition government in the UK
produced an alcohol strategy report that estimated that, each year, 1000 people in a
Corresponding author:
Katharine A. Boyd, Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology, The University of Exeter,
Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4SB, UK.
Email: K.boyd@exeter.ac.uk
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European Journal of Criminology 15(5)
community of 100,000 will be a victim of alcohol-related violence (Home Office, 2012:
6). The UK has been described as having a ‘binge and brawl’ culture (Measham and
Brain, 2005) with shifting drinking patterns such as increased pre-loading, where people
drink excessively at home before going out (Barton and Husk, 2012; Hughes et al.,
2008). In recent years budget reductions imposed on the police in the UK have left fewer
officers available to monitor the streets and deal with violence in NTE areas.
Many initiatives have been conducted within NTE areas around Britain in an effort to
reduce violence and social disorder and to promote public health. Examples include an
industry initiative supported by the Home Office, Best Bar None, Street Pastors from
local churches, Club Hosts, on-the-door drug testing, and so forth. Within this setting, the
Norfolk and Suffolk Police Force ran a breathalyser initiative in December 2013 issuing
breathalysers to 28 pubs and clubs in Norfolk. The police found a 32.6 percent reduction
in violent and violent sexual offences during this period compared with the previous year
(Bamfield et al., 2014).
The current study expands upon the Norfolk and Suffolk breathalyser initiative by
analysing the effectiveness and acceptability of the breathalyser initiative in a month-
long pilot in Torquay using a comparative study design. To analyse the effectiveness of
the initiative we compared violent crime in Torquay during the initiative with the previ-
ous year, which we also compared with the violent crime rates in the neighbouring town
of Paignton, where there were no breathalysers at pubs or clubs. The breathalyser initia-
tive was designed as a partnership between police and local licensed premises in an effort
to reduce violent crime and safeguard vulnerable persons effectively in the NTE area in
a cost-efficient manner. In addition to evaluating the effectiveness of breathalysers to
reduce violent crime, we also analysed the number of reported alcohol-related injury
cases from Torquay reported to Accident and Emergency (A&E). We were also inter-
ested in whether or not this initiative was considered acceptable by the public and con-
ducted a public opinion survey to assess whether or not there was support for the
initiative. The current paper focuses on the comparison of violent crime and alcohol-
related injury in an attempt to assess whether this initiative was effective at reducing
violence, as well as the opinion survey to assess if the scheme was seen as acceptable to
the public.
Literature review
Policy-makers, police and law enforcement professionals, academics and the public have
shown concern for the societal harms of alcohol. Though a causal relationship between
alcohol and violence is tenuous, because there are many people who drink and are not
violent, studies suggest that alcohol is often a factor associated with violence. For
instance, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) 2013/14 indicates that more
than half of violent incidents between adults involved alcohol (Office for National
Statistics, 2015).1 The data also show how alcohol-related violent incidents were more
common in the late night hours (52 percent of violent incidents between 5 and 10 pm
involved alcohol; 83 percent between 10 and 12am; and 84 percent between 12 and 6
am). Similarly, violent incidents that involve alcohol were most likely to occur on the
weekend when people are going out: 70 percent of incidents between Friday night and
Boyd et al.
611
Monday morning involved alcohol, whereas only 35 percent of violent incidents during
the week are alcohol related. The CSEW data also revealed that alcohol-related violent
incidents most often occurred between strangers, which suggests violence occurring in a
public place.
Just as there are variations in how alcohol-related violence occurs, there are also dif-
ferences in the use of alcohol. Not all ‘drinkers’ are alike and it is inappropriate to speak
of patrons as a homogeneous group. In 2016, alcohol consumption rates were at their
lowest since 2005 in Great Britain (Office for National Statistics, 2017). Young people
(aged 16–24) were the least likely to report drinking in the past week but were the age
group most likely to report binge drinking. There are regional differences, with drinking
consumption falling in most of Great Britain but not in the South West. In fact, the South
West has the largest proportion of people (statistically higher at 70.1 percent) reporting
drinking in the past week in comparison with other regions (Office for National Statistics,
2017), though it did not differ from regions in rates of binge drinking.
One study used breathalysers to evaluate the prevalence of intoxication in a city cen-
tre, finding that a minority of those drinking were ‘at risk’, but a significant proportion
of both males and females tested had consumed more than the advised daily limit (Moore
et al., 2007).2 Prior research has shown that individual characteristics, such as age and
gender, are risk factors for alcohol misuse, as are environmental factors such as reckless
alcohol promotions and poorly trained staff who sell alcohol to intoxicated patrons
(Homel et al., 1997; Moore et al., 2007). Similarly, studies suggest that the effect of
alcohol on aggressive behaviour is mediated by the environment (Graham et al., 1998).
The environment for the majority of alcohol-related incidents is the NTE, which is where
‘licensed premises are often clustered into easily identifiable zones, notable for their
youth-orientation and focus on alcohol consumption as the key social activity, economic
driver, and cultural motif’ (Hadfield et al., 2010: 465). Alcohol-related harm occurs in or
outside licensed premises or as individuals head home from a night out (Stockwell,
2001). Women in particular have stated concern about their drinks being spiked and
about subsequently being sexually assaulted in the NTE (Sheard, 2011). Studies have
documented the change in drinking culture in Great Britain in the last few decades, with
public intoxication becoming more common and city centres being converted from quiet,
deserted areas at night to busy areas filled with drunk young patrons until the early hours
of the morning (Measham, 2004; Roberts, 2006).
Not only has the drinking culture in the NTE shifted in recent years, but drinking
behaviour at home before going out has become more prominent. Pre-loading involves
drinking in excess before going out into the NTE. People are inclined to pre-load because
of the cost of alcohol in clubs and pubs (Foster and Ferguson, 2014). It is cheaper to buy
a bottle at the store and drink at home than to buy multiple drinks at the pub or club. The
appeal of pre-loading goes beyond cost savings. It has become an important cultural
activity that serves to promote social bonding (Foster and Ferguson, 2014) and increase
people’s confidence (Barton and Husk, 2014), such that it is now seen as a distinct part
of the evening in a ‘home–pub–club’ routine (Barton and Husk, 2012: 89). Pre-loading
often means drinking a lot of alcohol in a short time period, right before going out so that
the effect of the alcohol lasts as long as possible into the night out. With the liberalization
of the licensing laws (Measham and Brain, 2005), late or even 24-hour licences are now
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European Journal of Criminology 15(5)
available to encourage NTE trade, which provides an incentive for people to...
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