Extended opening hours at nightclubs in Visby: An evaluation of a trial in the summer of 2014

摘要

Background and aims:During 10 weeks in the summer 2014 opening hours in nightclubs in Visby (Sweden) were extended by 1 hour, postponing the permitted closing time from 2 to 3 a.m. A number of preventive efforts such as Responsible Server Training, and an intensified cooperation between the police and the nightclubs were strengthened in connection with the trial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of this trial on police-reported violence.Data and methods:To estimate the effect of the trial on violence, we compared the violence rate during the intervention period (week 24–week 33, 2014) with the violence rate in the corresponding period in Visby in 2010–2013. The intervention period thus comprised 10 weeks, and the pre-intervention period 40 weeks. As outcome measure we chose police-reported assaults that had occurred at night (midnight–6 a.m.). As control series we used assaults daytime (6 a.m.–midnight). The intervention effect was estimated with the method of “difference in differences” (...