The Association Between Density of Alcohol Establishments and Violent Crime Within Urban Neighborhoods

Abstract

Background Numerous studies have found that areas with higher alcohol establishment density are more likely to have higher violent crime rates but many of these studies did not assess the differential effects of type of establishments or the effects on multiple categories of crime. In this study, we assess whether alcohol establishment density is associated with four categories of violent crime, and whether the strength of the associations varies by type of violent crime and by on-premise establishments (e.g., bars, restaurants) versus off-premise establishments (e.g., liquor and convenience stores). Methods Data come from the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2009 and were aggregated and analyzed at the neighborhood level. Across the 83 neighborhoods in Minneapolis, we examined four categories of violent crime: assault, rape, robbery, and total violent crime. We used a Bayesian hierarchical inference approach to model the data, accounting for spatial auto-correlation and controlling for relevant neighborhood demographics. Models were estimated for total alcohol establishment density as well as separately for on-premise establishments and off-premise establishments. Results Positive, statistically significant associations were observed for total alcohol establishment density and each of the violent crime outcomes. We estimate that a 3.9% to 4.3% increase across crime categories would result from a 20% increase in neighborhood establishment density. The associations between on-premise density and each of the individual violent crime outcomes were also all positive and significant and similar in strength as for total establishment density. The relationships between off-premise density and the crime outcomes were all positive but not significant for rape or total violent crime, and the strength of the associations was weaker than those for total and on-premise density. Conclusions Results of this study, combined with earlier findings, provide more evidence that community leaders should be cautious about increasing the density of alcohol establishments within their neighborhoods.

La cultura tanática

“…Asesinatos cometidos bajo los efectos tóxicos del alcohol, cocaína, PBC o marihuana; sustancias estas que desencadenan celos patológicos, conductas paranoides o primitivismo homicida (43)(44)(45)(46). Es más, la adicción es una patología de necesidad mortal, pues, constituye el "suicidio dulce", "suicidio a cuenta gotas" o "muerte a placer".…”

Housing Quality in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Housing First for Homeless Individuals with Mental Illness: Correlates and Associations with Outcomes

“…6 Characteristics of neighborhoods have also been associated with health, mental health, and behavioral outcomes. 7 Relationships have been shown between a higher density of alcohol establishments in urban neighborhoods and rates of four types of violent crime, 8 between noise, overcrowding, absence of green space, community facilities, and fear of crime with lower mental health status and vitality scores, 9 and between neighborhoods defined in various ways as being disadvantaged and higher levels of depression and psychiatric distress. [10][11][12] While this accumulation of evidence makes it clear that housing and neighborhood quality are important social and physical ecological variables that may mediate or moderate outcomes in housing intervention research, Bobjective^housing and/or neighborhood quality is rarely measured in studies of housing interventions for homeless individuals including those with mental illness.…”

Race, Ethnicity, and Exposure to Alcohol Outlets

“…This observation is highly relevant to public health because there is considerable evidence that problems such as intentional injuries (Cunradi et al, 2012;Gruenewald & Remer, 2006;Livingston, 2008Livingston, , 2011Mair et al, 2013;Toomey et al, 2012), road trauma (McMillan et al, 2007;Ponicki et al, 2013), and child abuse and neglect (Freisthler & Weiss, 2008;Freisthler et al, 2007) occur more frequently in areas with more alcohol outlets (Campbell et al, 2009). Exposure to outlets may therefore contribute to health disparities between these racial and ethnic minorities and the White majority population and may be an appropriate target for preventive intervention (Romley et al, 2007).…”