A genius is one who shoots at something no one else can see – and hits it. ~Author Unknown
More alcohol sales locations in a neighborhood equals more violence and the highest assault rates are associated with stores selling alcohol for off-site consumption. The new research from two professors at Indiana University collected crime statistics and alcohol licensing data from Cincinnati. The goal was to examine the spatial relationship between the density of stores selling alcohol and assaults.
Department of Criminal Justice professor William Alex Pridemore and Department of Geography professor Tony Grubesic discovered that these stores seemed to be responsible for about one in four simple assaults and one in three aggravated assaults.
“A higher density of alcohol sales outlets in an area means closer proximity and easier availability to an intoxicating substance for residents,” Pridemore said. “Perhaps just as importantly, alcohol outlets provide a greater number of potentially deviant places. Convenience stores licensed to sell alcohol may be especially troublesome in this regard, as they often serve not only as sources of alcohol but also as local gathering places with little formal social control.”