Bars, Blocks, and Crimes

Dennis W. Roncek
Ralph Bell

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DOI: 10.2190/R0G0-FRWY-100J-6KTB

Abstract

We investigate the effect of bars or taverns on the amount of crime occurring on residential blocks. Our specific problem fits within the context of segregating non-residential from residential uses. We find that blocks with bars have more crime than blocks without bars, and that the number of bars on a block is moderately important for explaining where crimes occur. There are, however, no strong unique effects from locating bars on poor or minority blocks. Because the number of bars does not explain much of the variance in crime, our analyses do not warrant prohibiting bars on residential blocks.

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