Understanding Why Off-Premise Alcohol Outlets Matter for Neighborhood Violence

• In Event: Crime and Place: Neighborhood Context and Crime

Abstract

There is substantial evidence of an ecological association between alcohol outlet density and violence, and this association appears to be stronger for off-premise outlets. In these studies, however, each outlet is usually treated the same even though there are reasons to believe all outlets do not contribute equally to social problems. The literature lacks a discussion of the specific characteristics of off-premise alcohol outlets that might explain their differential contribution to hosting or generating violence. We collected data on immediate environment, outlet, staff, and patron characteristics for all off-premise alcohol outlets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, using systematic social observation. We employed exploratory spatial data analyses and spatially lagged regression models to determine if the variation in off-premise alcohol outlet characteristics is related to robbery density net of important neighborhood predictors of crime rates. We discuss our findings in the context of the literatures on the effects of alcohol outlets and neighborhood characteristics on local crime rates.

Authors

• Aleksandra J. Snowden, Marquette University

• William Alex Pridemore, University at Albany, SUNY