Effects of restricting pub closing times on night-time assaults in an Australian city

Abstract Aims: In March 2008 the New South Wales judiciary restricted pub closing times to 3 a.m., and later 3.30 a.m., in the central business district (CBD) of Newcastle, Australia. We sought to determine whether the restriction reduced the incidence of assault. Design: Non-equivalent control group design with before and after observations. Setting: Newcastle, a city of 530 000 people. Participants: People apprehended for assault in the CBD and nearby Hamilton, an area with a similar night-time economy but where