Local pubs low on violence blacklist

The latest league table of the City’s ‘most violent’ venues has been released, with only The Tunnel in Kings Cross scraping onto the top ten list with 19 associated incidents, the minimum for the Level One list.

Several local headliners in previous blacklists have been completely removed, namely Stonewalls in Oxford Street, The Vegas and The Empire in Kings Cross, and The Shark in the CBD.

Topping the state, as usual, were giant venues The Mean Fiddler in Rouse Hill with 53 incidents and Penrith Panthers with 46.

Only nine inner city venues made the Level Two list of 47, defined by 12 to 18 violent incidents in a year. They are The Gaff, Colombian and Exchange in Oxford Street with 16,15 and 12 incidents respectively; The Trademark, Bourbon and Candys in Kings Cross, all new to the list with 15, 14 and 13 incidents; and The Establishment, Ivy and The Blacket Hotel in the city with 18, 14 and 12 incidents.

The relatively low showing by city venues weakens the over-saturation theory used by anti-pub activists, which suggests that violence increases exponentially with greater concentrations of venues. But the figures suggest that size is the main indicator of violence, not concentration of venues.

Overall violence has fallen by 20 per cent since the listing scheme began, according to the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR). Venues on the Level One list face a 2am lockout and other tough restrictions, beginning for newly listed venues on 8 June.

The Tunnel and The Bourbon have been closed for renovations for many months, but the data used for the list was collected between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2009, overlapping the previous blacklist data by six months. This time the data extended beyond basic assault to include more serious crimes such as murder, riot, sexual assault and drink spiking.

The Daily Telegraph reported that The Tunnel’s listing came after a brawl last October that allegedly involved members of the Notorious gang, said to be connected to the Ibrahim brothers.

The nightclub, as seen in Underbelly, is understood to be under the control of John Ibrahim and has recently re-opened. However during the data collection period it traded as Dragonfly, so its listing under the new name is curious.

Other questions remain about the data. The Mean Fiddler is challenging several of the linked incidents. One such was reported to involve two girls who left the pub and were picked up by a taxi driver who propositioned and touched them, not obviously anything to do with the hotel.

But the main gripe from larger venues is that the data lists only absolute numbers and makes no allowance for the size of the venue. The Fiddler says it has 30,000 patrons in a month and its four incidents a month is therefore a good record.

The AHA agrees.

“Whilst today’s ‘shame list’ has seen numerous hotels removed, the AHA (NSW) still has some concerns about the system. Larger venues, which because of their sheer size and patron numbers, will always find it difficult to get off the list,” said Chief Executive Officer, Sally Fielke.

“Concerns still also remain with the police data and the accuracy of statistics that are alleged against venues. ”

by Michael Gormly

Who is assaulting whom?

Analysis of the violence data shows that tough regulations requiring a heavy security presence and service bans may in fact be contributing to the violence.

One in eight people assaulted on licensed premises are security guards, reports the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), which collects the data used to compile the blacklists. And 22 per cent of assault victims are either security or hotel staffers.

About a quarter of assaults instigated by patrons occurred upon being evicted from or refused entry to the premises.

The Bureau found that 76 per cent of assaults occurred on the premises while 21 per cent occurred off the premises but were indirectly linked, occurring nearby (such as on the footpath) and involving either staff, patrons or people refused entry.

When is a tunnel not a tunnel?

The Tunnel nightclub, under renovation, decorated its back lane entrance with an airbrushed mural by a local artist depicting a stone arch. But club personnel say the City of Sydney ordered it to be removed, saying it needed development approval and did not fit in with the ‘colour scheme’ of the lane.  Locals familiar with Earl Place are still trying to identify a colour scheme in the bleak laneway. The City denies ordering the removal of the mural – here shown half-covered with black paint, which apparently does fit in with the colour scheme.