Off-licences linked to rates of violence

US scientists have linked the amount of violence in any local area to the amount of off-trade outlets that operate within it.

The claim was made at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science last week, with the study itself conducted in different areas of Cincinnati.

Professor William Pridemore, who led the study and meeting in San Diego, explained the density of shops, bars and restaurants selling alcohol in various areas of the research were recorded against police records of the number of assaults in each given area.

The strongest association was seen to be with off-trade outlets. Pridemore, from Indiana University, told the BBC: "The police data is geo-coded, so we know in which of those blocks the crimes occurred.

"There was an association between the density of alcohol outlets and the density of assaults."

He explained the strongest association with violence was linked to "off-premise outlets", probably due to the fact there is "more social control" in bars.

"You have management, you have bouncers and you have bystanders who may step in and break up a fight before it gets more serious," he said.

The study claims to be applicable in predicting patterns of violence for different communities globally.

Natalie Verduystert, 01.03.2010