Downtown Drinkers: The Perceptions and Fears of the Public in a City Centre

• NCJ Number: 119974
• Author(s): M Ramsay
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 23 pages
• Corporate Author: Great Britain Home Office
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Crime Prevention Unit Paper 19

Annotation

This study reports the results of a survey of 1,200 users of the downtown area of Coventry, England to determine the extent of citizen concern over public drinking.

Abstract

The survey respondents were asked if they had been assaulted, mugged, or robbed in the previous 12 months. Twelve percent said they had been insulted or bothered by strangers. Two percent said they had been mugged or robbed. Young people were more likely to have experienced these crimes than were older citizens. Levels of fear of crime among the respondents were higher than reported crimes, and older citizens especially avoided the downtown area altogether to avoid crime. Over half of the respondents reported that people drinking alcoholic beverages in public represented a potential crime problem. The British Home Office, as an experiment, then enacted a byelaw to curtail drinking in downtown Coventry. The byelaw was highly supported by the citizens, and ninety percent rated it a good idea. Appendixes and sample questionnaire included. 13 references.