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Restrictions in pub closing times and lockouts in Newcastle, A ustralia five years on
Author(s) -
Kypri Kypros,
McElduff Patrick,
Miller Peter
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1111/dar.12123
Subject(s) - demography , quarter (canadian coin) , confidence interval , rate ratio , incidence (geometry) , population , medicine , geography , mathematics , sociology , geometry , archaeology
and Aims. In 2008 pub closing times were restricted from 5am to 3:30am in the central business district ( CBD ) of Newcastle, Australia. A previous study showed a one‐third reduction in assaults in the 18 months following the restriction. We assessed whether the assault rate remained lower over the following 3.5 years and whether the introduction of a ‘lockout’ in nearby H amilton was associated with a reduction in assaults there. Design and Methods. We used a pre‐post design with comparison against two post‐change periods. The setting was Greater N ewcastle (population 530 000) and subjects were persons apprehended for assault in the CBD and nearby Hamilton, an area with late trading pubs where a lockout and other strategies were implemented in 2010. Cases were police‐recorded assault apprehensions occurring from 10pm to 6am in one pre‐change period: January 2001 to March 2008, and two post‐change periods: (i) April 2008 to September 2009 and (ii) October 2009 to March 2013. Negative binomial regression with terms for secular trend and seasonal effects was used to estimate Post1: Pre and Post2: Pre Incidence Rate Ratios and confidence intervals. Results. In the CBD recorded assaults fell from 99/quarter before the restriction to 68/quarter in the first post‐change period [incidence rate ratio ( IRR ) 0.67, 95% confidence interval ( CI ) 0.55–0.82] and 71/quarter ( IRR : 0.68, 95% CI : 0.55‐0.85) in the later post‐change period. In the same periods in Hamilton, assault rates were 23, 24, and 22 per quarter respectively. Discussion and Conclusions. The restriction in closing time was associated with a sustained lower assault rate in the N ewcastle CBD . We find no evidence that lockouts and other outlet management strategies were effective in H amilton. [Kypri K, McElduff P, Miller P. Restrictions in pub closing times and lockouts in Newcastle Australia 5 years on. Drug Alcohol Rev 2014;33:323–326]