Professor Adam Crawford, Professor of Criminal Justice, (School of Law), presents these findings as editor of a special edition of the journal Criminology and Criminal Justice on the 'Night-time Economy', which also includes papers from Leeds academics from the School of Law and the School of Sociology and Social Policy.

"The journal contains several different papers on diverse but linked aspects of the night-time economy, such as anti-social behaviour, the sex industry, licensing laws and drug use," says Professor Crawford. "It was produced as a result of a series of seminars on 'Governing through anti-social behaviour', in particular a seminar held in Leeds on the night-time economy."

"What became clear during the Leeds seminar was that two separate identities of the city have emerged during the last 15 years or so. The first city provides a safe and clean day-time environment in which the focus is on attracting shoppers, visitors and inward investment, whilst the second is a more unruly night-time city where the normal bonds of restraint are loosened and people feel freer to indulge in uninhibited, sometimes illegal, behaviours and activities. Moreover, disorder and violence are directly implicated in the business of the night-time economy."

Professor Crawford believes that cities have developed this split personality with the tacit approval of the authorities. He explains: "The 1980s saw the rise of out of town shopping centres, a potentially fatal development for city centres as shoppers switched their attention - and spending power - to the malls. Urban planners and local authorities didn't want their city centres to become hollowed-out ghost towns, so investment in the night-time economy was encouraged - often through a relaxation of the licensing laws. Twenty-four-hour drinking licences were introduced with the intended aim of encouraging a more civilised, European-style drinking culture."

This easing of regulations spawned a huge growth in licensed premises, often competing with each other through late licences and drinks promotions, and an increase in the number of other venues such as lap-dancing clubs. Now, several years later, it's clear that the positive objective of a vibrant but safe night-time atmosphere in our city centres has largely not been realised and, instead, images of drunkenness, violence, drug taking and out-of-control behaviour have become all too familiar.

"There's a clear conflict between allowing concentrations of licensed premises to bolster economic activity in city centres and the disorder this encourages," says Professor Crawford. These businesses want to keep the police happy, but struggling licensed premises also want to maintain market share by cutting prices to attract customers.

"The associated disorder which mars many of the busiest nights in our city centres may be tackled by anti-social disorder legislation but, in fact, it is an unfortunate by-product of the perceived need to make cities thrive - and happens with the collusion of the licensing authorities and the planners. They're happy to take the money - but the downside is disorder and violence."

So what does the future hold for Britain's city centres and how they are managed? Dr Crawford says: "What's now emerging is a general view that things have gone far enough - people are beginning to raise questions about the social and moral implications of allowing situations that can encourage destructive and antisocial behaviours. We've already seen this government back-track on the idea of supercasinos, and this reconsideration of what is and isn't ethically acceptable seems to be spreading to other areas.

"There's now debate about various different aspects of the night-time economy. For example, clearing up the results of social disorder and who pays for it; is it the responsibility of licensees, local authorities or central government? What about the long-term health effects of binge-drinking; what does that mean for the nation? In the sex industry, are 'acceptable' institutions like lap-dancing clubs marginalising other sex workers? How is behaviour in our city centres regulated, moderated and policed?

"All these questions, and more, are currently being discussed and the answers will have profound implications for the way our cities look and feel in the future. Moreover, it is essential that public debate about these crucial issues of the day is informed by rigorous research findings like those published in this special issue rather than media-inspired hyperbole and knee-jerk solutions."

Further information
'Governing through anti-social behaviour' was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. A special edition of the journal Criminology and Criminal Justice on the 'Night-time Economy' was edited by Adam Crawford, Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Leeds, and John Flint, Professor of Housing and Urban Governance, Sheffield Hallam University. It was published in October 2009.

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