Barroom approaches to prevention

Barrooms are an obvious setting for alcohol-related violence prevention. Pubs, nightclubs and other outlets are locations where a great deal of alcohol-related disorder takes place. Consequently, and because licensed premises are the point-of-sale for alcoholic beverages, barrooms are also important settings for interventions aimed at reducing harm. Additionally, the public nature of barrooms make these ideal venues in which to conduct research aimed at understanding alcohol-related aggression, and for making assessments of the effectiveness of alcohol policy reforms, including violence reduction interventions. By referring to a growing body of research evidence, this chapter will firstly look at the factors which govern barroom violence risk. Next, examples from barroom observational research will be provided to illustrate how these factors interact with each other and with prevention strategies. Finally, the difficulties in attributing success to specific barroom violence prevention interventions will be discussed, as these are invariably affected by wider changes in the alcohol landscape.