Violence, Danger and Security in the Night Time Economy

Professor Stephen TomsenSchool of Social Sciences

University of Western Sydney

http://www.uws.edu.au/social_sciences/soss/key_people/academic_staff/professor_stephen_tomsen

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Research Background: Violence and Night Leisure• Principal research assistant on study of public drinking violence in NSW

(Macquarie University 1989, reporting to National Inquiry) > policeinterviews (licensing/general duties), survey of police recordingpractices, analysis of police assault records + observation study of violentvenues in and around Sydney)

• Observational study was most innovative > groundwork for laterAustralian and overseas research on situational/ environmental factorslinked with aggression and assaults (esp. Homel & colleagues, Graham) >high drinking rates, boredom, discomfort and crowding, high number ofyoung male patrons, aggressive doorstaff etc. > possibility of alteringenvironments?

• Observation as a major new means of validating findings in behaviouralsciences approach > counting behaviours, search forvariables, correlations and explanatory model building

• Ethnography as focus to understanding drinking and pub/club violence(aim to find an insider view of a culture or way of life > intensiveobservation and real participation in social setting + semi-structuredinterviews with key informants > influenced by small literature on‘drunken comportment’ and social ‘license’ /‘time out’ (McAndrew &Egerton; Cavan)

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• Masculinities theory and research as a further sources of understanding.1980s/1990s analyses in sociology (Connell) and criminology(Messerschmidt) > feminist literature on domestic and sexual assaults > avery important Australian example was study of homicides as different‘masculine scenarios’ (Polk).

• Informed view of drinking violence as male confrontational violence >actor concerns with male status, honour and ‘carnivalesque’ orpleasurable rebellion.

• Further interest beyond ‘culturalist’ focus on masculine interaction andbeliefs of aggressive drinkers > broader social and state agency responsesto violence > indifference and ‘hands off’ > violent identities and practicesreproduced in lax police and other official controls > underresearchedlevels of aggression from poorly regulated and trained private security/bouncers ?

• First hand witnessing of very high levels of violence in ‘bloodhouses’ > 1/3assaults perpetrated by staff > 1/10 reported to police > most notrecorded or further dealt with > vexed issues of police corruption inrelation to venues and industry reform

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The Night Time Economy and City Revival• 1800s/1900s industrial capitalism > social class as principal mode of

collective identity > work activity and labor market position > not castesbut relatively fixed > Late 20th/21st century > economic focus onconsumption in developed economies > stimulation as a goal forprosperity > consumption and cultivation of the self > post-Fordistbreakdown of clear work/leisure divide

• Transformation of city life from traditional loathing of darkness >accelerated rise of urban night time leisure as sphere of commodificationand exchange > 1980s/1990s > new advocates of the promise of the ‘nighttime economy’ (NTE) and the ‘24 hour city’ (Bianchini, Montgomery) >faith in broad untapped potential of a range of night leisure activities >overcome wasted economic capacity, intensifyspending, investment, growth and employment in related services

• Advocated as ideal for run-down ‘de-industrialised’ cities > globalisationand restructuring led to collapse heavy industry(mining, steel, shipping, manufacturing) > old industrial cities in UK(Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff etc.) > complement gentrification ofinner city > professionals with high leisure spending, broad tastes indrinking, dining and cultural consumption > arts, concerts and theatre 4

• 1990s efforts to expand paid leisure and culture as urban planning tool• Cities competing for ‘cosmopolitan’ (and official ‘city of culture’) status

and as ‘tourist meccas’ > broad range of leisure experiences to local andvisitors arriving via new cheap mass air travel

• New value of areas of cultural diversity (previously detested or ignoredethnic and gay enclaves) to attract visits and spending

• Critical assessment of streetscapes to be aesthetic > promotion of clustersof cafes and restaurants, hallmark buildings, vistas, waterfronts, newhotels and hosting of hallmark events > aim was a broad mix of highbrowand other leisure activities (arts, music, dining and drinking > eg. TempleBar in Dublin)

• Utopian vision celebrated NTE as new potential realm of free socialitybetween people > relaxed interaction of many people would enhancenatural surveillance and security > gaps adequately covered by provisionof security from private sources

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The Night Time Economy, Drinking and Crime • Rival critical vision is dystopian > a result of disappointment with actual

histories and patterns of stimulated urban night leisure• Few cities are genuine ‘global cities’ (major centres of financial power and

cultural influence > Sassen) or even ‘cosmopolitan’ > but in 1990s NTEbecame the regular and formulaic ‘quick fix’ for city revival

• UK association with limited cultural diversity and narrow dominance of‘alco-leisure’ and unsophisticated rowdy drinking and drunkenness > esp.working class youth and more young women > a culture of massintoxication ? > rapid deregulation of drinking venues(numbers, locations, activities and hours) > transformation of citycentres, High Streets and transport hubs with clusters of busy upscaledpubs and nightclubs > deterring broader use of NTE > expanded policework, assaults, public nuisance and neighbourhood irritation (Finney) >‘dark satanic nightclubs’ of post-industrial UK cities ?

• Australia has followed a similar path > less dramatic change because ofearlier history of this development > 1980s onwards Kennett andWran/Greiner deregulated Melbourne and Sydney night scenes with latedrinking > King St disorder and violence

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• Drinking and crime associated in a vast literature and different researchforms (official crime records and statistics, incident, offender andobservational studies) > critics suggest the link can be spurious > only acorrelation is established and high socialising in itself is linked to crime andviolence > frequent debates about measurement and attribution

• Caution that drinking has different individual, collective and situationaleffects > research on young men’s ‘disengagement’ from violence fromconflict situations (Tomsen 2005)

• Nevertheless, the total evidence suggesting a likely link is very strong >arising from a range of quantitative and qualitative research traditions >robust evidence of criminogenic character of night leisure(Hadfield, Graham & Homel, Chikritzhs (‘sik-rit-sees’) etc.) > linked withdrink driving, assaultive crime (in public and domestic ‘flowon’), vandalism, disorder, hosting of illicit drug dealing and use > healthand social costs of related death, injury and community conflict

• Are just a result of rapid stimulation and deregulation of nightlife? Canprevention and containment catch up with social harms ? Divided uses ofexpanded night leisure fairly reconciled ?

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The Sydney Study: City After Dark

• City of 4.5 million vying for world citystatus > rapid expansion ofpopulation and urban change > citygentrification and new city residentnumbers > inner city had 48%residential growth under a decade(128,000 in 2001 > 177,000 in 2009)> major problems and poor planningof infrastructure, transport andhealth needs > will night leisure bethe same?

• ‘City After Dark’ study (2007-present) media analysis, documentstudy, observations, surveyquestionnaire of night users andresidents

• Follows similar scoping research onNewcastle and Parramatta

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Three major areas of NTE activity

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Three major areas of NTE activity

East Sydney/Darlinghurst/Kings Cross > unplanned old ‘red light’ > high conflictover residents and very late licensing and impact of ‘seedy’ venues > ‘post-gay’ identity of Oxford St. and demise of quality restaurants and boutiqueshops > locals opposed to a particular form of NTE/ specific venues >confusing expectations of police eg. drug searches and sniffer dog use vs.‘real crimes’ like hate attacks

Darling Harbour/Casino > leisure and tourist area created by 1980s planning offormer wharfs > theatres, new apartments, bars and nightclubs

George St./Circular Quay CBD > recently expanded strip from seedy Centralstation takeaways, game parlours, sex shops, mass cinemas and venues withopen admission > unplanned rise of night leisure and clubs mid-town > moreexclusive or expensive bars and clubs > mixed night use of Quay > elite andless elite leisure forms > drinking, high end dining, Opera and concerts

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City After Dark: field observations

Observations (December 2008 – April 2010 n = 33)

• Kings Cross/Oxford St > Darling Harbour/Pyrmont > George St/Circular Quay

• Each area: 9+ visits > from two RAs > 3 to 8 hour sessions > mid to late night/early morning > focused at end of week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) > visitinga mix of key venues (pubs, nightclubs, wine bars and cafes) and nearby busystreets

• Focused on streetscape, built environment and forms of nightleisure, prominent groups of people and their interactions, distinctive patternsof socialising, eat and drinking, levels of surveillance, security and policing, anyaggression, disorder and violence

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Key features

• Major recent growth of night leisure > esp. new strip along CBD• General centrality of collective drinking > in less and more exclusive spots• More female drinkers in groups• High ethnic mix (divided along class lines?)• New market for middle class professionals (‘suits’ and ‘clubbers’) in early and later

night economy > popularity of aesthetic ‘vista drinking’ > small growth of smallbars > boutique beers, mixed drinks, cocktails > ‘wet dining’

• Venue and consumers in proximity to city apartments

Other changes• Long term demise of private domestic parties esp. in apartments• Demise of dance party era > venue issues re. Showgrounds etc.• Demise of many pub rock venues adjacent to city > controls, noise complaints and

gentrifying of pubs or the ‘gaming’ pathway

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Violence, the city and public drinking• Sydney - history of fear of public drinking and working class leisure > early 20th

century introduced 6 pm closing, strict restrictions on licenses > matched acommon belief that public drinking was inherently problematic

• Contemporary social science evidence of behavioural variation in drinkinginspires ideas of easily fine-tuning this leisure > NTE planning reflects hopes ofcultivating gentrified drinking patterns

• Yet expanded and very late NTEs in Melbourne, Sydney and other Australiancities and towns have fostered concern regarding assaultive crime and publicdisorder

• Mechanisms to counter problems include Liquor Accords, serverintervention, police targeting of hotspots, lockouts etc.

• Association with violent incidents can be dramatic eg. 1997 triple killing inBlackmarket nightclub, 1998 killing by security guards at Sydney Casino, 2002Salt nightclub killings, and 2007 morning rush hour shooting of three peopleby a Melbourne nightclubber

• Violence is the flashpoint for concern about NTE by residents, police andaccident and emergency workers > central reference in the NSW argumentsabout the restrictions on listed venues

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City after dark: survey questionnaire

• UWS online survey June 2009-June 2010

• 315 respondents > 79 identified as resident to study areas

• Mix of questions about experience of living near to or participating innightlife > leisure patterns, drinking and forms of night socialising, viewsabout areas and locations, policing and management of licensedvenues, personal security and safety

• Gender > Female 54% (170) Male 46% (145)

• Sexuality > Gay/Lesbian/Queer (43) 14% No (271) 86%

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Age

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Income

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Safety, security and crime

• Do you normally feel safe in the city at night? Yes 90 % (283) No 10 % (32)

• Are there places in Sydney where you feel unsafe at night? Yes 76 % (241) No 24 % (74)

• Are the NSW Police doing enough to prevent dangerous forms of nightlife? Yes 57%(178) No 43% (137)

• Do door staff/venue security make the city at night safer? Yes 56% (177) No 44% (138)

• Have you ever been the victim of a crime while participating in nightlife? Yes 19% (61)No 81 % (254)

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Crime incidents during night leisure

• Assault (32) 45.10%• Theft (19) 26.80%• Unspecified Violence (6) 8.50%• Sexual Assault (3) 4.20%• Verbal Abuse (3) 4.20%• Racial Vilification (2) 2.80%• Drink Spiking (2) 2.80%• Assault by Security (2) 2.80%• Sexual Harassment (1) 1.40%• Attempted Theft (1) 1.40% Total (71) 100.00%

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10

15

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Assault Theft Unspecified Violence

Sexual Assault Verbal Abuse Racial Vilification

Drink Spiking Assault by Security

Sexual Harassment

Attempted Theft

(Residents) Have you ever been negatively affected by nightlife activities in your area?

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(Residents) In what ways?

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Respondent recruitment

Number of respondents = 315

• Don't Punish Us e-news letter (96) 30.50%• Fbi Radio web advertisement (80) 25.50%• Through an email list > esp. city residents groups (33) 10.50%• Word of mouth (28) 8.80%• Project Facebook group (19) 6.10%• Newspaper Advertisements > Drum Media, City News, MX (16) 5.10%• Two Thousand online advertisment (13) 4.10%• Posters in venues (1) 0.30%• Other (27) 8.50%• Unspecified (2) 0.60% Total (315) 100.00%

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0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Don't Punish Us e-news letter

Fbi radio web advertisement

Through an email list

Word of mouth

Through a Facebook group

Through Newspaper Advertisements

Through Online Advertisments

Through posters in venues

Other

Unspecified

Qualitative sections• Significant levels of fear/danger > very specific locations• High experience of incidents of broad range > many alarming• Limited faith in police activity and less confidence in venue security• But many night users oppose stricter venue regulation• Many nearby residents experience some negative impact• Very mixed and opposed views about the NTE and its regulation?

Peculiar sample?• Diametrically opposite arguments > rehearsed among lobby groups?• Deeply divided views about NTE problems and remedies• Many night users view other users as the problem and suggest types

or groups of people to be controlled

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Debate about official assault/crime levels• Dark figure is accepted as major problem > ‘grey’ (reported but not

recorded) figure is still mysterious• Sensitive area due to charges of tampering (eg. suspicion regarding

portion of the recent of Newcastle assaults drop and higher incidentrejection rates > Sydney Morning Herald 13 April 2010)

• Sydney 1988 study > highly inconsistent modes of recording > ¼ of 600reported drinking related assaults at Manly were not fully recorded > anti-victim bias? controlling workload?

• Foucauldian model > social surveillance in demography, crime and healthstatistics (Hacking) > classic interactionist accounts of organisationalproduction (Cicourel, Black) > few studies looking at organisational changeand occupational resources and reforms shaping official knowledge

• Need to distinguish a. the justice model of crime records (recording andpreparing a strong case for successful prosecution) and b. the researchmodel (need to accurately know patterns of offending for prevention andpolicy) > recent central aim of occupational reformers and researchers

• Crime maps do usefully show spread of spaces of high offending as thosewith high NTE activity

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Hotspot map for non-domestic assault incidents Sydney LGA 2009 (BOCSAR, 2009)

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Hotspot map for alcohol related assault incidents Sydney LGA 2009 (BOCSAR, 2009)

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Assaults rising or falling?• Hard to judge success or failure of prevention strategies > may

succeed if stopping major growth, holding steady or a drop• A small recorded drop can produce complacency > criminologists

search for ‘typical’ patterns > may dismiss people’s perceptions ofspecific danger or risk as just due to moral panic > dubious scalingof victim experiences (a ‘bleak science’)

• Discussions about rates and whether crime and violence is up/downare ubiquitous > distract from fundamental question about whatlevels are too high ?

• Mixed national evidence > long term decline in homicides alongsiderises in assaults in recent decades esp. male confrontationalhomicides > 2008/9 assaults dropping in NSW (+spike in Victoria?)

• Evidence of sharp but modest recent drop in NTE violence in Sydney• Recorded violence rose significantly in the years preceding > could

still be regarded as ‘high’ from that time

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NSW BOCSAR figures

• NSW > total assaults drop from71,000 approx. in 2008 to 69,000approx. in 2009

• Sydney LGA recorded non-domestic assaults drop from 4280(2008) to 3778 (2009)

Uneven drop in assaults onlicensed premises Sydney LGA1999-2009

• 1999 > 601 • 2000 > 686 • 2001 > 736• 2002 > 801• 2003 > 838• 2004 > 868• 2005 > 873• 2006 > 819• 2007 > 925• 2008 > 947• 2009 > 800

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• Evidence that intensive preventive measures in NTE economy can hold orpartly reduce serious violence > esp. general cut in opening hours > howfar to take this is a vexed political question ?

• Venue specific measures might not produce the whole decline or plateauin Sydney’s NTE expansion? External social factors slowing direct violencecould include:

• Middle classing of city at night > exclusion practices, limited suburbantransport and non availability of leisure for low income groups > failingtransport from suburbs, taxi cost, parking costs, RBT

• Apparent decline in violence from security officers > more regulatedoccupation > more respectable form of work with broader range ofrecruits

• Lower community tolerance of violence > the long ‘civilizing process’predicted by Elias > withdrawal from direct violence vs. Hall and Winlow’sclaim of a breakdown of the ‘pseudo-pacification’ process in UK NTE

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The NTE, fear and identity

• A heavy focus on violence downplays the impact of fear, nuisanceand incivility on residents and also on night time leisure users > highirritation with certain activities and other people among participantsand residents

• Residential move to cities and bother with night leisure reflectsambivalence about urban spectacle and diversity > excitement vs.security ?

• ‘Stranger society’ (Bauman) pervaded with fear heightenedperception of risk beyond personal control

• Views of rival leisure are forms of cultural capital/ invested withemotion of oppositional identity politics (urbane vs. vulgar; chic vs.suburban; affluent vs. poor; queer vs. straight etc.)

• Conflicts of gentrification (esp. East Sydney) vs. reasonable concernsand petitioning for protection

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The state and NTE regulation• Old police regulation of black economy of drinking, vice and

gambling was inefficient and wasteful / rational modes of staterevenue gathering

• New state dependence on drinking, gaming revenue > high status ofStar City Casino

• Gambling machines revived hotels from mid 90s but made themmore significant actors in state revenue

• Fragmentation between NSWgovernment, police, planners, security providers, healthofficials, local councils > Sydney City Council providing security andtrying to lead longer policy > police must balance more mobilisedinterests of industry, revellers and residents

• New interests include vocal new middle class professional segment> city as its aesthetic property > tastemaking, gentifying leisure >architect designed buildings, galleries, new cafes and ‘small bars’ vs.vulgar leisure venues > high friction in Kings X, Darlinghurst andSurry Hills

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• Post-liberal state described as weak, dying, ‘lean and mean’ or ‘steering’ >smaller with more developed audit capacities and regulation rather thanservice delivery (Anglo-American political science)

• UK researchers suggest the ‘violent hypocrisy’ of deregulation of nightleisure and drinking and official denial about relation rises in youth(including new female) binge drinking, assaults, accidents and other anti-social effects (Hayward & Hobbs)

• A similar vein of hypocrisy in NSW > the ‘rum’ state > relying on alcoholrevenue and gaming taxes > more important in budget crisis years

• Deregulated hours and venue locations, sidelining and re-involvement ofpolice, the Liquor Summit (2003), education and preventioncampaigns, Liquor Accords, RSA, mixed responses to linkage and ‘lastdrink’ studies, venue listings and conditions on service (no glass >12pm, 2am lockout, 10 min time outs etc.) in specific venues suggestdivided state goals > individual, market/industry and official responsesthat are not fine-tuning but ad hoc? Communities NSW/OLGR has apronounced role of coordinating regulation and defusing division ?

• Current specific venue regulation reaching its limits to lower assaults anddisorder?

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• Range of new strategies > balance of industry $$ needs and critiques >cherry picking suggestions of research regarding environments andcontrols but not more restricted licensing hours

• Braithwaite’s regulation theory > conceived to find a way forward forbalanced ‘responsive’ regulation by neo-liberal state > persuasivemechanisms > presupposes unity of state agents and their goals?

• NTE regulation is inherently divided > states absolute need for finance andpromotion of new industry/city growth vs. safety and security > thusmeasures without clear overall direction > tinkering re. lockouts, timeoutsetc. > avoiding general community nuisance of very late trading >uncertainty about what state sectors are leading > interviewees signalmajor lobbying power of the industry continues

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• Neo-liberal states cannot disavowresponsibility by eitherprivatisation of security or byindividual focused‘responsibilisation’ for risk(Garland)

• Current NTE policy-making likelegitimation crisis > state fiscalcrisis + inability to absorb andbalance demands of rival forces >crime concerns are hard to fendoff > paradox of trying to hosedown fear and anxiety over NTEand generally stressing law andorder, danger, need forpunishment and incarceration

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