Alcohol and crime: the unspoken truth and the practical policy solutions for prevention

1. Alcohol and crime: the unspoken truth and the practical policy solutions for prevention Robert Nash Parker University of California

2. Alcohol and Violence: the unspoken yet well known truth • Violence is caused in part by alcohol • Alcohol makes violence worse than it might be otherwise • Alcohol control and regulation can be used to prevent Violence

3. The practical and the possible • Research from “Alcohol and Violence: The nature of the relationship and the Possibility of Prevention” • Look for this new book in 2010 • Preview of several chapters today • A look at some new research on alcohol and assault in Canada

4. Minimum Drinking Age • US has a uniform 21 age minimum age of legal purchase • In the 1970s, many US states had younger ages • Late 1970s to mid 1980s, all states were encouraged (forced) to adopt 21 • What was the impact on violence?

5. Increasing the minimum age of purchase and youth homicide • Data for 49 states and DC, 1972-1993 • Before and after critical period 1979-1984 • First state enacted 21 (Minnesota); US Federal Government essentially forces 21 uniformity • Broad consideration of predictors including: • Taxes on Beer • Increases in minimum age • Prices of alcohol

6. Increasing the minimum age of purchase and youth homicide • Results indicate: • Minimum age increase prior to 1984 decrease youth homicide • The Higher beer taxes, the lower youth homicide • Despite rising youth homicide rates during the 1972-1993 period, evidence that alcohol policy can reduce youth violence

7. Availability of alcohol and youth violence • Although alcohol is not supposed to be available to those under 21, youth are able to obtain with reliability in many communities • Studies in US show that 55% to 80% of the time, youth are able to buy alcohol directly in retail establishments • What would happen to youth violence if alcohol availability went down?

8. Availability of Alcohol and youth violence • Three year study 1993-1995 in Small Northern California Community • In the second year of the study, City decided to remove alcohol outlets in 6 neighborhoods (out of 35; 12 outlets closed) • Youth violence measured from police data for offenders and victims, 12-24

9. Availability of Alcohol and youth Violence • Natural experiment: • Net of other factors, the places where availability was reduced had significantly lower rates of youth violence • Causal effect powerfully demonstrated

10. Availability, Enforcement, and youth gang activity • Minimum Age of purchase is also about enforcement as well as setting minimum age and availability • Is enforcement a useful tool for prevention of youth violence? • Tested the idea with gang violence, a most difficult target for policy intervention

11. Availability, Enforcement, and youth gang activity • Using Pseudo-Under age buyer sting • 21 years olds who look young • Attempt to buy after an intervention • Findings: • Only 24% successful • Neighborhoods with more successful buys had higher gang violence net of other predictors • Unspoken Truth: • Enforcement of minimum purchase laws reduces violence

12. Alcohol Advertising and a specific type of youth violence • Similar study in another Northern California Community • Why would the industry spend so much money on advertising if the only impact was to get adults to switch brands? • Unspoken truth that everyone knows: • They would not!

13. Alcohol Advertising and a Specific Type of Youth Violence • Measured the content of advertising in local retail outlets with trained observers • Among the most common content: • Sexually explicit, commodifying, and exploitative ads featuring women in provocative and near pornographic poses • We measured assault and sexual assault, overall advertising and sexually explicit advertising rates

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17. Alcohol Advertising and a specific type of youth violence • Findings: • Controlling for relevant factors: • Advertising in general did not impact assault or sexual assault • Sexually explicit advertising raised the rate of sexual assault, but not other assaults • These findings were net of overall outlet density; they were also ethnic specific • More ads with Latina models, more Latina girls were sexually assaulted

18. Unintended truths: Alcohol prevention impacts violence • Community Trials Study • Conducted by the Prevention Research Center, Berkeley (PIRE) • Led by Harold Holder, one of the world’s leading experts on Alcohol and Prevention • Designed to impact drunk driving, pedestrian accidents, falls, burns, fires, etc: everything but violence • Question: Did these multi faceted and coordinated interventions impact violence?

19. Unintended Truths: Alcohol Prevention Impacts violence • Time series analyses of all three experimental sites showed that: • The timing of a number of different types of interventions led to lower violent crime rates 1 to 3 months later • The volume of interventions reduced violent crime 2 to 3 months later

20. Alcohol and Assault: the Canadian Truth • New study: International Project on Alcohol and Assault • Purpose is to assemble a massive set of evidence from 20, 30 or more countries, cities, provinces, using time series methods • To prove beyond a shadow of doubt that alcohol causes assault • Use these results to convince governments at all levels to pursue alcohol control and regulation as a means to lower numbers and costs of violent crime

21. Alcohol and Assault: the Canadian Truth • Time Series analysis shows a lagged causal relationship between Assaults and Spirits consumption, between 1950 and 1999 • Similar to results from Republic of Ireland and the United States • Assault impacts more than 200,000 Canadians (2007) a year

22. Alcohol and Violence: The Spoken Truth • Alcohol related violence can be prevented • Existing regulations on Alcohol can be used to achieve substantial reductions • Many of the interventions discussed here can be achieved with little or no expenditure of funds • Why would Anyone be Opposed to this?

23. More about Alcohol and violence: Policy, research, reading • International Sociological Association Research Committee 29 • World Congress of Sociology Gothenberg, Sweden, July 2010 • Deadline December 1, 2009 Abstracts • URL: http://www.isa-sociology.org/congress2010/rc/rc29.htm

24. More about Alcohol and violence: Policy, research, reading • Meeting on Alcohol and Violence in Melbourne, Australia, March 2010 • Sponsored by the Kettil Bruun Society • Hosted by Robin Room and Turning Point • November 1, 2009 deadline extended for Abstracts • URL:http://www.kettilbruun.org/Violence_Melb.htm

25. More about Alcohol and violence: Policy, research, reading • Alcohol Policy 15 • Washington DC, December 2010 • Email Tom Colthurst: tomc@silvergategroup.com • URL: http://www.silvergategroup.com/ap15/index.htm

26. Finally: • Look for a new book on alcohol and violence in 2010 • Alcohol and Violence: The Nature of the Relationship and the Promise of Prevention • Robert Nash Parker • Email me, robnp@aol.com, for more information