Place managers in entertainment districts: the role of third party policing in shaping place manager actions

The police play an important role in the control of drug and alcohol problems in entertainment districts. Their role, however, in partnership approaches to crime control in entertainment districts is not well understood. In this paper, we explore how a police-led partnership (the Liquor Enforcement and Proactive Strategies programme – LEAPS) shaped licensed venue managers' and owners' (whom we refer to as ‘place managers’) perceptions of crime and disorder and how LEAPS then activates place managers to take some responsibility for controlling crime and disorder problems. Using a survey of the population of place managers in an entertainment district in Brisbane, Australia before and after the implementation of LEAPS, our study reveals that place managers perceived a decrease in drug use, prostitution and chroming, yet perceptions of the incidence of underage drinking, social disorder and fighting increased. Results also show an increase in the number of self-reported proactive behaviours taken by place managers who considered illicit and licit drugs to be a problem. Results suggest that the role of place managers is instrumental for enhancing police responses to drug and alcohol problems in entertainment districts. We conclude that LEAPS officers are well placed to co-opt place managers into taking further responsibility for crime problems in and around their drinking establishments.