The Relationship Between Alcohol Beverage Types and Violence

Abstract

There is substantial evidence of an ecological association between off-premise alcohol outlets and violence. We know less, however, about how specific beverage types that are sold in the outlets might explain the difference in violence rates across different alcohol outlets. Data on alcohol beverage types were collected for all off-premise alcohol outlets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, using a systematic social observation instrument. Spatially lagged regression models were estimated to determine whether the variation in alcohol beverage types is related to robbery density net of important neighborhood predictors of crime rates. Availability of all alcohol beverage types (beer, wine, spirits, premixed, single beer, single spirits, single premixed) was positively associated with the density of robberies, net of neighborhood characteristics. Reducing alcohol beverages, regardless of the beverage type, sold at off-premise alcohol outlets may reduce violence in communities.