The impact of breathalysers on violence and attitudes in the night-time economy

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

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anderson

Chisholm

Fuhr

(2009) Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. Lancet 373(9682): 2234–2246.

Bamfield

Brown

Brooks

(2014) Breathalyser Initiative Results Analysis. Joint Performance and Analysis Department of the Norfolk and Suffolk Police, Norfolk and Suffolk Police Force.

Barton

Husk

(2012) Controlling pre-loaders: Alcohol related violence in an English night time economy. Drugs and Alcohol Today 12(2): 89–97.

Barton

Husk

(2014) ‘I don’t really like the pub […]’: reflections on young people and pre-loading alcohol. Drugs and Alcohol Today 14(2): 58–66.

Bowden

Barnes

(2015) Targeting nondomestic violence inside houses of multi-occupancy. International Criminal Justice Review 25(1): 54–63.

Department of Health (2015) Reference Costs 2014–15. Department of Health UK, November. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/477919/2014-15_Reference_costs_publication.pdf.

Department of Health, Home Office, Department for Education and Skills and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2007) Safe. Sensible. Social: The Next Steps in the National Alcohol Strategy. London: Department of Health.

Devon County Council (2001) Torbay Wards. URL (accessed 14 December 2017): http://www.devon.gov.uk/torbay_wards.pdf.

Devon County Council (2014) Devon Strategic Assessment 2013/14 Technical Report. URL (assessed 22 December 2017): http://www.devon.gov.uk/devon_strategic_assessment_2013.14technical_report_2014.pdf.

10.

Finney

(2004) Violence in the night-time economy: Key findings from the research. London: Home Office. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): http://www.popcenter.org/problems/assaultsinbars/pdfs/finney_2004.pdf.

11.

Foster

Ferguson

(2014) Alcohol ‘pre-loading’: A review of the literature. Alcohol and Alcoholism 49(2): 213–226.

12.

Graham

Leonard

Room

et al . (1998) Current directions in research on understanding and preventing intoxicated aggression. Addiction 93(5): 659–676.

13.

Hackley

Bengry-Howell

Griffin

et al . (2008) The discursive constitution of the UK alcohol problem in Safe, Sensible, Social: A discussion of policy implications. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 15(1): 61–74.

14.

Hadfield

Lister

Traynor

(2010) ‘This town’s a different town today’: Policing and regulating the night-time economy. Criminology & Criminal Justice 9(4): 465–485.

15.

Hobbs

Hadfield

Lister

et al . (2003) Bouncers: Violence and Governance in the Night Time Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

16.

Home Office (2012) The Government’s Alcohol Strategy. Cm 8336, HM Government. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224075/alcohol-strategy.pdf.

17.

Homel

Hauritz

Wortley

(1997) Preventing alcohol-related crime through community action: The Surfers Paradise safety action project. In: Homel

(ed.) Policing for Prevention: Reducing Crime, Public Intoxication, and Injury. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

18.

Homel

McIlwain

Carvolth

(2004) Creating safer drinking environments. In: Heather

Stockwell

(eds) The Essential Handbook of Treatment and Prevention of Alcohol Problems. London: John Wiley & Sons, 235–254.

19.

Hughes

Anderson

Morleo

et al . (2008) Alcohol, nightlife and violence: The relative contributions of drinking before and during nights out to negative health and criminal justice outcomes. Addiction 103(1): 60–65.

20.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (2012) Devon Overview. URL (accessed 22 December 2017): http://www.devonhealthandwellbeing.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Joint-Strategic-Needs-Assessment-Devon-Overview-2012.pdf.

21.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (2015a) An overview of the Roundham with Hyde population – April 2015. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): http://www.southdevonandtorbay.info/media/1389/roundham-with-hyde-ward-summary.pdf.

22.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (2015b) An overview of the Tormohun population April 2015. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): http://www.southdevonandtorbay.info/media/1393/tormohun-ward-summary.pdf.

23.

Measham

(2004) The decline of ecstasy, the rise of ‘binge’ drinking and the persistence of pleasure. Probation Journal 51(4): 309–326.

24.

Measham

Brain

(2005) ‘Binge’ drinking, British alcohol policy and the new culture of intoxication. Crime, Media, Culture 1(3): 262–283.

25.

Miller

(2013) What Works for Crime Reduction: Linking Research to Policing. College of Policing. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): https://www.cepol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/05-nicky-miller.pdf.

26.

Moore

Shepherd

Perham

et al . (2007) The prevalence of alcohol intoxication in the night-time economy. Alcohol and Alcoholism 42(6): 629–634.

27.

Office for National Statistics (2015) 5 facts about alcohol-related violence. From the Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2013/14. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105191712/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences–2013-14/sty-facts-about-alcohol-related-violence.html.

28.

Office for National Statistics (2016) 2011 Census aggregate data. UK Data Service (Edition: June 2016). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2011-12.

29.

Office for National Statistics (2017) Adult drinking habits in Great Britain: 2005 to 2016. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/drugusealcoholandsmoking/bulletins/opinionsandlifestylesurveyadultdrinkinghabitsingreatbritain/2005to2016.

30.

Pratten

(2006) The reputation of the UK licensee: An attempt to offer a balanced view. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 18(3): 260–268.

31.

Pratten

Greig

(2005) Can Pubwatch address the problems of binge drinking? A case study from the North West of England. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 17(3): 252–260.

32.

Roberts

(2006) From ‘creative city’ to ‘no-go areas’ – The expansion of the night-time economy in British town and city centres. Cities 23(5): 331–338.

33.

Sheard

(2011) ‘Anything could have happened’: Women, the night-time economy, alcohol and drink spiking. Sociology 45(4): 619–633.

34.

Sherman

Gottfredson

MacKenzie

Eck

Reuter

Bushway

(1998) Preventing Crime: What works, what doesn’t, what’s promising. Research in Brief. National Institute of Justice. Report No NCJ-171676. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED423321.pdf

35.

Stockwell

(2001) Responsible alcohol service: Lessons from evaluations of server training and policing initiatives. Drug and Alcohol Review 20(3): 257–265.

36.

Torbay Council (2015) Torbay Housing and Health Needs Assessment. Torbay Council, November. URL (accessed 11 December 2017): http://www.torbay.gov.uk/media/6757/housing-and-hna.pdf.