Preventing Bar Violence: A Study on Australian Drinking Culture

Violence in bars is a growing area of concern in modern day society, particularly in Australian culture where the consumption of alcohol is socially acceptable. Recently, the Australian media has been dominated by an alarming incidence of “king hit” attacks, suggesting that alcohol is a major cause for the increase in violence. By mapping the location of such crimes, studies have shown that they concentrate in particular places and at certain times. The fact that these crimes are thus non-random allows criminologists to predict where and when crime will happen, assisting in developing prevention strategies for these problems. Scanning and analysing the situational precipitators and factors which may be contributing to high volumes of crime is a crucial step in mounting a targeted response. This essay will therefore argue that violence in bars is preventable and offer some suggestions as to how this may be achieved.

There is extensive literature supporting the idea that crime is not random, and providing evidence of a link between particular licensed premises and high concentrations of violent crime. Studies conducted in Australia and overseas suggest that a small minority of locations are associated with the majority of problems. In a report conducted by the New South Wales (NSW) Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, it was found that 12% of hotels in Sydney accounted for almost 60% of all assaults, and 8% of licensed premises in Newcastle accounted for nearly 80% of all on-premises assaults, (Briscoe & Donnelly, 2001). Similarly in a past study on Sydney, Homel and Clarke (1994) recorded that across 45 licensed premises; over 75% of incidents involving physical aggression were concentrated in less than one fifth of sites. Tw...

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...ardian. Whether or not particular bars become hot spots depends on such features as location, type of patrons and the conditions. Intoxication appears to be a large factor in addition to negative situational factors, weak prohibition, and a permissive environment. The non-random nature of crime allows the identification of patterns across time and space, and enables us to predict when and where violence is likely to occur. Prevention therefore lies with removing the opportunity to offend by combining targeted policing efforts, key staff and environmental deterrents as well as managing alcohol-related aggression. Based on previous projects and the evidence given in this argument, top priorities should be better trained bouncers and bar staff, the introduction of responsible service programs, better designed atmospheres and stricter enforcement of acceptable behaviour.