Where Did All the Public Inebriates Go? Displacement After a Liquor Store Closure

• In Event: Alcohol and Crime

Abstract

As a result of citizen activism, a package liquor store in a transitional neighborhood was denied renewal of a state license to operate and was immediately shut down. Nearby residents and business owners subsequently reported a decline in troublesome behavior associated with this location, including drug dealing, public drinking, and loitering. Using police call-for-service and field interview data, this paper examines spatial displacement of reported criminal and disorderly activity and also explores whether individuals frequently contacted by the police around that location moved their street activity to other parts of the community following the closure of the package store.

Author

• Sharon Chamard, University of Alaska Anchorage