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ContentsContentsAbout the Problem-Specific Guides Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vThe Problem of Assaults in and Around Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Related Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Factors Contributing to Aggression and Violence in Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Alcohol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Culture of Drinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Type of Establishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Concentration of Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Bar Closing Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Aggressive Bouncers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6High Proportion of Young Male Strangers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Price Discounting of Drinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Continued Service to Drunken Patrons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Crowding and Lack of Comfort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Competitive Situations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Low Ratio of Staff to Patrons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Lack of Good Entertainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Unattractive Décor and Dim Lighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Tolerance for Disorderly Conduct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Availability of Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Low Levels of Police Enforcement and Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Understanding Your Local Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Asking the Right Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Incident Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Locations/Times. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Bar Management Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Regulations and Enforcement Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15vii

viiiAssaults in and Around Bars, 2nd EditionMeasuring Your Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Responses to the Problem of Assaults in and Around Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17General Requirements of an Effective Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Specific Responses to Reduce Assaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Reducing Alcohol Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Making Bars Safer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Responses With Limited Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Appendix: Summary of Responses to Assaults in and Around Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

The Problem of Assaults in and Around BarsThe Problem of Assaults in andAround Bars§This guide deals with the problem of assaults in andaround bars.§ We know a lot about the risk factors forthese assaults, and about effective responses to them.We know less about which particular responses are mosteffective in addressing specific aspects of the problem.Therefore, your challenge will be to conduct a goodanalysis of the local problem, guided by the informationpresented here, and put together the right combination ofresponses to address that problem.§§The guide begins by reviewing factors that increase therisks of assaults in and around bars. It then identifies aseries of questions that might help you analyze your localproblem of assaults in and around bars. Finally, it reviewsresponses to the problem, and what is known about themfrom evaluative research and police practice.The proliferation of bars in many communities has ledto increases in assaults in and around the bars. Whilemany, if not most, of these are alcohol-related, assaultsalso occur when neither the aggressors nor the victimshave been drinking. Most assaults occur on weekendnights.1 The majority of assaults occur at a relatively smallnumber of places.2, §§ Not all assaults involve a simplefistfight with a clear beginning and ending; instead, theincidents are often more ambiguous and complicated.For example, some are intermittent conflicts that flareup over time, some evolve into different incidents, andmany involve participants who alternate between the rolesof aggressor and peacemaker, often drawing additionalpeople into the incident.3 Some involve lower levels of The term “bar” refers to licensedliquor establishments that sellalcohol primarily for consumptionon the premises. These includeestablishments variously known asnightclubs, pubs, taverns, lounges,hotels (in Australia), discotheques,or social clubs. The term “assault”refers to the full range of violentacts, from those that cause minorinjury to those that cause death,and from consensual fights tounprovoked attacks.For example, in Sydney, Australia,just 12 percent of bars accountedfor almost 60 percent of assaultsoccurring in licensed drinkingestablishments (Briscoe andDonnelly 2001b).

Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd Editionaggression (pushing, shoving), some involve more-severeviolence (kicking, punching), and still others involve theuse of weapons. Many of the injuries treated at hospitals,especially facial injuries, are related to assaults in andaround bars.Those who fight in bars are not deterred by negativeconsequences (such as minor injuries, tension amongfriends, or trouble with the police), all of which tend tobe delayed. The perceived rewards are more immediateand include feeling righteous about fighting for a worthycause, increasing group cohesion among friends, gettingattention, feeling powerful, and having entertaining storiesto tell.4 Although some assault victims do something toprecipitate the assault, many do not. 5 Most are smallerthan their attackers, are either alone or in a small group,and are drunk more often than their attackers. 6 Attackerstarget victims who appear drunker than themselves. 7Many assaults are not reported to the police by either barstaff or the victim. Bar owners have mixed incentives forreporting assaults to the police. On the one hand, theyneed police assistance to maintain orderly establishments,but on the other hand, they do not want official recordsto reflect negatively on their liquor licenses. Many fightsand disputes that start inside a bar are forced outsideby the staff so they do not appear to be connected withthe bar. Victims often are drunk, are ashamed, and seethemselves as partly responsible, and so do not reportassaults. Other victims believe the incidents are too trivialto involve the police.8 Thus police records do not reflectthe total amount of violence in and around bars. However,we underestimate the seriousness of the problem if webelieve these assaults are just excessive exuberance byyoung men or “just deserts” for drunken troublemakers.

The Problem of Assaults in and Around BarsIn addition to generating police and community concernsfor public safety, bar owners also bear the consequencesof the problem in terms of damage to reputations, lossof future customers, staff reluctance to work, damage toproperty, reductions in profit, and, ultimately, potentialloss of license.9Related ProblemsAssault is only one of many alcohol- and bar-relatedproblems the police must address. Some of these issuesare covered in other guides in this series. These relatedproblems require their own analyses and responses: assaults around bars motivated by racial, ethnic, sexualorientation, or other bias binge drinking on college campuses disorderly conduct of public inebriates who drink inbars (e.g., panhandling, public urination, harassment,intimidation, and passing out in public places) drug dealing in bars drunken driving by customers leaving bars§ gambling in bars illegal discrimination against bar patrons prostitution in bars sexual assaults in and around bars underage drinking.§§§See Problem-Specific GuideNo. 36, titled Drunk Driving.§§See Problem-Specific GuideNo. 27, titled Underage Drinking.

Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd EditionFactors Contributing to Aggression andViolence in BarsUnderstanding the factors that are known to contributeto your problem will help you frame your own localanalysis questions, determine good effectivenessmeasures, recognize key intervention points, and select anappropriate set of responses for your particular problem.AlcoholDrinking alcohol is the most obvious factor contributingto aggression and violence in bars, but the relationshipis not as simple as it might seem. Alcohol contributes toviolence by limiting drinkers’ perceived options during aconflict, heightening their emotionality, increasing theirwillingness to take risks, reducing their fear of sanctions,and impairing their ability to talk their way out oftrouble.10 Many of the alcohol problems police deal withcan be attributed to ordinary drinkers who go on binges,drink more than they usually do, or drink on an emptystomach. In general, those who drink excessively are moreaggressive and also get injured more seriously than thosewho drink moderately or not at all. 11 Moderate drinkers donot appear to be at significantly higher risk of injury thannondrinkers.Culture of DrinkingCultures that are more accepting of intoxication as anexcuse for antisocial or aggressive behavior, and that relaxthe normal rules of society during drinking time, havehigher levels of aggression and violence in and aroundbars.12 This tolerance for intoxication is often reflectedin a society’s laws related to legal defenses to crimes, and

The Problem of Assaults in and Around Barsto the regulation of drinking and the alcohol industry. Insome peer groups, intoxication is an accepted excuse foraggression and violence.13Type of EstablishmentCertain types of bars, such as dance clubs, have higherlevels of reported violence.14 Neighborhood bars andsocial clubs have lower levels of reported violence,partly because patrons know one another well, and partlybecause they usually resolve conflicts privately. Restaurantsthat serve alcohol also have less violence. Bars that serveas pickup places, cater to prostitutes, traffic in drugs orstolen goods, or feature aggressive entertainment are athigher risk for violence.Concentration of BarsThe evidence on the effect of bar concentration is mixed.Some bars attract crime, while others are merely affectedby crime in the surrounding neighborhood. Blocks withbars have higher levels of reported crime than blockswith no bars.15 High concentrations of bars can increasebarhopping, and if all bars close at the same time, therisks of conflicts on the street increase. But the mere factthat a neighborhood has a high concentration of barsdoes not necessarily mean there will be higher crime levelsin the area.16Bar Closing TimeBars’ hours of operation contribute to the risk ofviolence in different ways. When all bars in a given areaclose at the same time, and large numbers of patronsexit simultaneously, crowds may linger on the sidewalk

Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd Editionto wait for transportation or to order food from latenight restaurants, and competition for these services canprecipitate assaults. Moreover, large groups of patronsfrom incompatible social groups might come together,creating conflict.17Uniform mandatory closing hours also encourage somepatrons to drink heavily just before closing, knowingthey cannot legally buy another drink for the rest of thenight. It is generally the case that bars with later closinghours experience more assaults than those with standardbusiness hours, although additional research on the effectsof later or staggered bar closing times is needed. 18Aggressive BouncersSome security staff see themselves as enforcers, ratherthan as protectors of customers’ safety. 19 The moreaggressively the security staff handles patrons, the moreaggressively patrons respond. Many security employeesand bouncers lack the skills to defuse violence. Thepresence of large, muscular men dressed in black,which is not uncommon for security staff, encouragesconfrontations with some patrons, while discouragingthem with others. Bouncers’ very presence maysubconsciously signal to some patrons that physicalconfrontation is an acceptable way to resolve disputes inthat bar. Bouncers are implicated (whether justifiably soor not) in a significant proportion of assaults. 20 However,victims of aggression by security staff may be hesitant toreport the assault for several reasons: they may not havean accurate description of the bouncer involved, they mayfear retaliation and being banned from the bar, or theymay not want their own actions to be scrutinized. 21

The Problem of Assaults in and Around BarsHigh Proportion of Young Male StrangersThe overwhelming majority of attackers and victimsare young men (18 to 29 years old). Many young mengather and drink alcohol to establish machismo, bondwith one another, and compete for women’s attention. 22Many incidents of bar aggression start when young menchallenge one another.23 This is more likely to happen whenthey do not know each other. Overall, women’s presencehas a calming effect on men’s behavior in crowded bars. 24Price Discounting of DrinksMany bars offer discounted prices for drinks to attractpatrons, but price discounting increases patrons’intoxication levels and thereby increases the risks ofaggression.Continued Service to Drunken PatronsDrinkers report that the most common reaction to theirdrunkenness in bars is continued alcohol service. 25 Inpart, this occurs because staff have difficulty determiningwhether patrons are drunk, particularly when customersobtain drinks from several sources within the bar (e.g.,bartenders, waitresses, and “shot girls”). 26 Determiningwhether patrons are drunk is more difficult in overcrowdedbars, as servers are under pressure to serve customersquickly. In addition, crowded venues are noisy, making itdifficult for servers to hear verbal cues that would suggestdrunkenness.27 Refusing service to drunken patrons oftenmakes them angry. Bartenders and wait staff who donot want this aggression directed at them, and who alsomay not want to risk losing tips, often continue to serveobviously drunken patrons.

Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd EditionCrowding and Lack of ComfortPoor ventilation, high noise levels, and lack of seatingmake bars uncomfortable. This discomfort increases therisks of aggression and violence.28 Crowding around thebar, in restrooms, on dance floors, around pool tables, andnear phones creates the risk of accidental bumping andirritation, which can also start fights.29Kip KelloggCrowding in bars creates the risk of accidental bumping andirritation, which can lead to assaults.Competitive SituationsThe high emotions that arise during competition inbars—whether patrons are watching sporting events ontelevision or competing themselves in pool, darts, or othertypical bar games—can turn to anger and frustration. 30Competitive drinking contests (e.g., “chugging” beer orrolling dice for drinks) contribute to excessive drinking.Sports bars may foster a “macho” atmosphere and maycontribute to customers’ sense that aggression is anacceptable part of the social setting. 31 Competition outsidethe bar—for food service, public transportation, walkingspace, women’s attention, and so forth—can similarlytrigger violence.

The Problem of Assaults in and Around Bars Low Ratio of Staff to PatronsInadequate staffing increases the competition for serviceand the frustration of patrons, and reduces opportunitiesfor staff to monitor excessive drinking and aggression.32Lack of Good EntertainmentEntertained crowds are less hostile. Quality music (asdefined by the patrons) is more important than the music’snoise level.33, §Unattractive Décor and Dim LightingRecognizing that attractiveness is highly subjective,obviously unattractive, poorly maintained, and dimly litbars signal to patrons that the owners and managers havesimilarly low standards for behavior, and that they willlikely tolerate aggression and violence. 34Tolerance for Disorderly ConductIf the bar staff tolerates profanity and other disorderlyconduct, it suggests to patrons that the staff will tolerateaggression and violence, as well.35Availability of WeaponsPatrons can use bottles, glasses, pool cues, heavy ashtrays,and bar furniture as weapons. The more available anddangerous these items are, the more likely they will causeserious injury during fights and assaults.§Newspaper articles and reportsfrom some police agencies suggestthat certain forms of music, suchas hip-hop, attract aggressive andviolent crowds, but it is unlikely thatthe musical form itself generatesaggression, at least not directly.

10Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd EditionLow Levels of Police Enforcement and Regulation§Some police departmentsdiscourage or prohibit uniformedpatrol officers from inspecting bars,while other departments encourageit and make it a key element oftheir efforts to control problemsin and around bars. The CharlotteMecklenburg (North Carolina) PoliceDepartment successfully lobbied forlegislative changes to allow policeofficers to inspect licensed premises.Low levels of liquor-law enforcement and regulationreduce owners’ and managers’ incentives to adoptresponsible practices.§ We do not know for certain whateffect the deployment of off-duty police officers in andaround bars has on assault rates.

Understanding Your Local ProblemUnderstanding Your Local ProblemThe information provided above is only a generalizeddescription of the problem of assaults in and around bars.You must combine the basic facts with a more specificunderstanding of your local problem. Analyzing the localproblem helps in designing a more effective responsestrategy.StakeholdersIn addition to criminal justice agencies, the followinggroups have an interest in the assaults-in-and-around-barsproblem and ought to be considered for the contributionthey might make both to gathering information about theproblem and to responding to it: risk

to analyze the problem, and means to assess the results of a problem-oriented policing project. They are designed to help police decide how best to analyze and address a problem they have already identified. (A companion series of Problem-Solving Tools guides has been produced to aid in various aspects of problem analysis and assessment.)