Fourteen months after the introduction of reforms to Sydney’s alcohol laws, to crackdown on alcohol related violence, there has been a significant fall in assaults in the Kings Cross precinct of 32 per cent, and a substantial continuing reduction in the number of assaults in the Sydney CBD entertainment precinct of 40 per cent.
The BOCSAR report, ‘Lockouts and last drinks: The impact of the January 2014 liquor licence reforms on assaults in NSW, Australia’ shows the decision to target alcohol-related violence has resulted in a fall in non-domestic assaults.
The report’s findings also indicate that the reform to alcohol laws is having an impact not just on assault rates across the Sydney CBD but on wider falls across NSW, which has seen a nine per cent fall in rates of violence recorded.
A further analysis of assault patterns will be conducted throughout the year, with patterns set to inform a review of the changes to alcohol laws.
