Does Increasing Community and Liquor Licensees’ Awareness, Police Activity, and Feedback Reduce Alcohol-Related Violent Crime? A Benefit-Cost Analysis

Abstract

Approximately half of all alcohol-related crime is violent crime associated with heavy episodic drinking. Multi-component interventions are highly acceptable to communities and may be effective in reducing alcohol-related crime generally, but their impact on alcohol-related violent crime has not been examined. This study evaluated the impact and benefit-cost of a multi-component intervention (increasing community and liquor licensees’ awareness, police activity, and feedback) on crimes typically associated with alcohol-related violence. The intervention was tailored to weekends identified as historically problematic in 10 experimental communities in NSW, Australia, relative to 10 control ones. There was no effect on alcohol-related assaults and a small, but statistically significant and cost-beneficial, effect on alcohol-related sexual assaults: a 64% reduction in in the experimental relative to control communities, equivalent to five fewer alcohol-related sexual assaults, with a net social benefit estimated as AUD$3,938,218. The positive benefit-cost ratio was primarily a function of the value that communities placed on reducing alcohol-related harm: the intervention would need to be more than twice as effective for its economic benefits to be comparable to its costs. It is most likely that greater reductions in crimes associated with alcohol-related violence would be achieved by a combination of complementary legislative and community-based interventions.

Whole‐of‐community interventions to reduce population‐level harms arising from alcohol and other drug use: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Five trials reported use of screening and brief intervention in either schools or health and community services, such as brief alcohol screening or blood testing for injection‐related blood‐borne viruses . Eleven trials reported some increase in law enforcement activity, including increased presence at parties, enforcement of minors in possession laws, enforcement of alcohol sales to minors and increased random roadside drug testing at problematic times . Supply reduction strategies …”

“…Most were cluster‐randomized controlled trials ( n = 13) , and targeted AOD use in young people ( n = 17) . Trials were conducted in the United States ( n = 13) , the Netherlands ( n = 2) , Australia ( n = 2) and one each in Sweden , Italy , Canada , Iceland , Sri Lanka , South Africa and China . Sample sizes (of those directly surveyed) ranged from 142 to 123 235 (median = 5024); however, given the community focus, the total number of people exposed to the intervention in each study was unknown, but likely to be larger.…”

“…Most trials were at high risk of bias for allocation sequence generation ( n = 14) and selective reporting ( n = 12) . Eight trials were found to be at high risk of bias for other causes, including significant lack of power, omitting details on statistical significance level, nesting of an intervention within a larger intervention trial, outcome data being collected for males only, evaluating changes within intervention groups rather than between intervention and control groups, not accounting for clustering and omitting details of certain outcomes due to significant attrition. When examined by overall risk of bias rating, most studies ( n = 13) were rated as having an overall high risk of bias , n = 7 had an overall rating of unclear due to insufficient reporting of data and just four had an overall rating of low .…”

“…alcohol‐free local theatre productions, sporting activities) were incorporated as part of the intervention in most trials ( n = 19) . Mass media were utilized by 14 studies . Demand reduction and skills‐based strategies …”

“…The mean post‐intervention follow‐up length was 35.6 months (range = 0, i.e. immediate post‐test to 96 months), with seven trials providing assessments at immediate post‐test (i.e. 0 months) only.…”