The impact of retail practices on violence: The case of single serve alcohol beverage containers

Abstract

These findings suggest that if the city were to make the voluntary ban on single serve container sales mandatory, violence in the surrounding areas would decline, all other things being equal. This study provides a much more grounded and specific justification for enacting such policy changes and once again shows the utility of alcohol policy for the reduction of crime and violence.

Using Surveillance Data to Inform Community Action: The Effect of Alcohol Sale Restrictions on Intentional Injury-related Ambulance Pickups

“…The study reported a reduction in disorderly conduct in the restricted sales areas, although an increase in other forms of crimes was observed. Another study, by Parker et al (2011), that examined refrigerated shelf space dedicated to single-serve containers as a proxy for single-serve alcohol sale, also reported a positive association between single-serve sales availability (i.e., shelf space) and rates of violence.…”

“…These studies related to single-serve alcoholic beverages had focused on promotion and availability of these beverages as factors for racial disparities in homicide rates (Jones-Webb et al 2008) and analyzing the consumption of such beverages as a predictor for exposure to violence (Chavira et al 2011). Unlike the above studies, a more specific evaluation, conducted by Parker et al (2011), reported a significant association between the availability of refrigerated shelf space dedicated to the sale of single-serve beverages and neighborhood-level violence. However, a recent quasi-experimental study examining the impact of malt liquor sale restrictions on crimes reported a mixed finding (Barajas et al 2011).…”

“…Although the same rationale regarding alcohol outlet density as a causal factor for violence can be applied to single-serve container sales, outlets that primarily sell single-serve containers may have a compounded impact on the prevalence of violence by increasing the affordability of alcoholic beverages (Parker et al 2011). Although such a relation appears quite plausible, few studies have examined the impact of single-serve alcoholic beverages or malt liquor beverages on violence (Barajas et al 2011; Chavira et al 2011; Jones-Webb et al 2008; Parker et al 2011). These studies related to single-serve alcoholic beverages had focused on promotion and availability of these beverages as factors for racial disparities in homicide rates (Jones-Webb et al 2008) and analyzing the consumption of such beverages as a predictor for exposure to violence (Chavira et al 2011).…”

Minimum Financial Outlays for Purchasing Alcohol Brands in the U.S.

“…6,12,13 These investigations found that establishing a minimal alcohol price 6,12 and restricting the sale of single-serve containers 13 were effective in reducing alcohol consumption 6,12 or reducing rates of neighborhood violent crime. 13 More recently, England has proposed 14 and Scotland has passed a minimum pricing policy, 15 which, as suggested, may be even more effective than merely raising excise taxes because it ensures that there are no low-priced products on the market that may appeal specifically to underage or high-volume drinkers.…”

The relationship between alcohol and violence: Population, contextual and individual research approaches

“…Availability policies are based on the assumption that easier access to alcohol increases overall consumption in a population, which, in turn, increases alcohol problems.’ Alcohol‐related violence, however, may be affected not only by increased consumption but also by other factors associated with alcohol availability, such as the impact of availability on drinking contexts (where and with whom the alcohol is consumed) and broader social factors [32,33]. Four papers in this issue examine specific facets of availability [34–37].…”