Effects of restricting pub closing times on night-time assaults in an Australian city.
OBJECTIVE
In March 2008 the New South Wales judiciary restricted pub closing times to 3 a.m., and later 3.30 a.m., in the central business district (CBD) of Newcastle, Australia. We sought to determine whether the restriction reduced the incidence of assault.


METHODS
Non-equivalent control group design with before and after observations.


METHODS
Newcastle, a city of 530,000 people.


METHODS
People apprehended for assault in the CBD and nearby Hamilton, an area with a similar night-time economy but where no restriction was imposed.


METHODS
Police-recorded assaults in the CBD before and after the restriction were compared with those in Hamilton. Cases were assaults occurring from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. from January 2001-March 2008, with April 2008-September 2009 as the post-restriction period. We also examined changes in assault incidence by time of night. Negative binomial regression with time, area, time × area interaction terms and terms for secular trend and seasonal effects was used to analyse the data. Autocorrelation was examined using generalized estimating equations.


RESULTS
In the CBD, recorded assaults fell from 99.0 per quarter before the restriction to 67.7 per quarter afterward [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.55-0.80]. In the same periods in Hamilton, assault rates were 23.4 and 25.5 per quarter, respectively (IRR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.79-1.31). The relative reduction attributable to the intervention was 37% (IRR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.47-0.81) and approximately 33 assault incidents were prevented per quarter.


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that a restriction in pub closing times to 3/3.30 a.m. in Newcastle, NSW, produced a large relative reduction in assault incidence of 37% in comparison to a control locality.
Kypri
Kypros
K
School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. kypros.kypri@newcastle.edu.au
Jones
Craig
C
McElduff
Patrick
P
Barker
Daniel
D
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000517:prevention & control; D003132:Commerce / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D035061:Control Groups; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008004:Licensure; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012621:Seasons; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D055815:Young Adult