Assaults on licensed premises in inner-urban areas

The present bulletin examines police-recorded assault incidents on licensed premises in the inner-urban areas of Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Findings from this analysis suggest that a small number of problematic licensed premises are associated with a disproportionate amount of violence. In inner Sydney 12 per cent of hotels accounted for almost 60 per cent of all assaults on hotel premises, in Newcastle 8 per cent of licensed premises accounted for nearly 80 per cent of all assaults on licensed premises and in Wollongong 6 per cent of licensed premises accounted for 67 per cent of all on-premises assaults. The analysis also found that assault incidents on licensed premises were concentrated late at night or early in the morning and on weekends. Licence types identified as being the most problematic for violence on licensed premises were hotels and nightclubs. In particular, hotels with extended or 24-hour trading recorded a greater number of assaults compared with those trading standard hours. Other characteristics of licensed premises previously identified as being associated with harm are discussed.