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Criminology and Criminal Justice
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The 2003 Licensing Act's impact on crime and disorder

An evaluation

Mike Hough

King's College London, UK

Gillian Hunter

King's College London, UK

The Licensing Act 2003, coming into force in November 2005 in England and Wales, abolished set licensing hours for pubs and clubs. The aim was to liberalize a rigid system while reducing the problems of drinking and disorder associated with a standard closing time. This article summarizes the results of an evaluation funded by the Home Office. Despite widespread concern that the legislation would lead to `24-hour drinking' and an increase in associated problems, the experience of the first year shows very little change. The scale of change in licensing hours was variable but modest: while the majority of pubs extended their hours, most of these extensions were short. Thus the average national increase in opening hours was small. Alcohol consumption showed a slight fall. There was no obvious impact on violent crime and disorder, according to a range of measures, including crime statistics, victim surveys and medical statistics. These results are not particularly consistent with findings in other jurisdictions which have relaxed controls over opening hours of pubs and clubs.

Key Words: alcohol-related crime • binge drinking • disorder • licensing • violence

Criminology and Criminal Justice, Vol. 8, No. 3, 239-260 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1748895808092428
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