Line Drawn Connecting Violence and Local Liquor StoresJune 16, 2006
Research Summary
Alcohol sales at local liquor stores tend to increase violence in their neighborhoods regardless of location, while bars tend to make violent neighborhoods worse, according to a study from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE).
HealthDay News reported May 31 that PIRE researchers drew their conclusions from relating hospital discharges, demographic information, and liquor-outlet locations in 1,637 California zip codes.
"The regulation of alcohol outlets in violence-prone areas clearly is an important step to reducing crime," said study author Paul Gruenewald. "In areas where bars are a particular problem, special effort should be made to reduce the potential for violence in these establishments."
The study appears in the May 2006 issue of the journal Addiction.
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