Did the association between alcohol outlet density and crime change during COVID shelter-in-place orders?

INTRODUCTION: We investigated whether greater concentrations of on- and off-sale alcohol outlets were associated with crime and whether this association was moderated by COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders (SIP) that restricted on-premises consumption of alcohol. METHODS: Crimes (2019-2020) and addresses of licenced alcohol outlets in a medium-sized California city were geocoded within census block groups (N = 61). On- and off-sale alcohol outlet density was calculated as licenced outlets/2.59 km2 (1 square mile). Multilevel negative binomial regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between alcohol outlet density and crime, and possible moderating effects of SIP, controlling for block group demographic characteristics and density of other retail businesses. RESULTS: On-sale outlet density was positively associated with total crimes and Part 2 crimes, while off-sale outlet density was inversely associated with total crime and Part 2 crimes. Overall, SIP was not significantly associated with crime, but moderated the associations of on-sale density with total crime and Part 1 crimes such that reductions in crime during SIP were observed in higher density areas. The association of off-sale outlets with crime was not moderated by SIP policies. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: On-sale outlet density, but not off-sale density, appears to be associated with increased crime. The results further indicate that restrictions in hours and service imposed by SIP policies reduced crime in high on-sale outlet density areas. These findings reinforce the importance of regulating alcohol outlet density and hours of service, especially for on-sale outlets, as a crime reduction strategy.

Recreational Marijuana Legalization, Local Retail Availability, and Alcohol and Marijuana Use and Co-Use Among California High School Students.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether recreational marijuana legalization (RML) and local retail availability were associated with marijuana and alcohol use and co-use among adolescents. METHOD: We investigated associations between RML and past-30-day marijuana and alcohol use and co-use, and moderating effects of retail availability of marijuana and alcohol, using data from the 2010-2011 to 2018-2019 California Healthy Kids Surveys (CHKS) of 9th and 11th grade students in 38 California cities. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were conducted, controlling for secular trends and student and city demographics. Additional analyses examined associations of RML and retail availability with co-use among subgroups of drinkers and marijuana users. RESULTS: For the full sample, RML was inversely associated with alcohol use but was not significantly associated with marijuana use or co-use with alcohol. However, significant interactions between RML and marijuana outlet density showed that there were increases in marijuana and alcohol co-use and alcohol following legalization in cities with higher densities of marijuana outlets. RML was positively associated with co-use among non-heavy and heavy drinkers, but inversely related to co-use among occasional and frequent marijuana users. A significant positive interaction between RML and marijuana outlet density indicated that RML was associated with increases in co-use for occasional marijuana users in cities with higher densities of marijuana outlets. CONCLUSIONS: RML was associated with increases in marijuana and alcohol co-use and alcohol use among California high school students, particularly those in cities with higher densities of retail cannabis stores, although this varied across alcohol and marijuana use subgroups.

Determining a dosage threshold of drink-driving enforcement operations: A systematic review.

ISSUES: Policy enforcement is crucial to achieve impacts on alcohol-related harm. It is not clear what level of enforcement intensity or 'dosage' is necessary for addressing drink driving and related harms. Given competing enforcement demands and agencies' resource constraints, understanding how much enforcement is sufficient to deter drink driving is critical. APPROACH: This systematic literature review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA) guidelines to examine research about dosage effects of enforcement and related visibility on drink-driving outcomes, including motor vehicle crashes and fatalities. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Effective Practice and Organization of Care tool and the JBI checklist. KEY FINDINGS: The 21 studies that met the inclusion criteria for this review differed in measures of enforcement dosage and outcomes, making it difficult to synthesise results across studies and draw conclusions about a threshold or optimal level of enforcement. Although most included studies found that sustained enforcement was associated with reductions in drink driving or related harms, only two studies tested an optimal dosage. Due to study design limitations, a substantial percentage of these studies must be considered with caution. IMPLICATIONS: Additional research with rigorous study designs with appropriate controls is needed to determine an optimal high visibility enforcement dosage level to help law enforcement agencies make realistic decisions about allocating enforcement resources to address drink driving. CONCLUSION: Consistent evidence about a drink-driving enforcement dosage threshold is lacking, partly due to an insufficient number of well-designed studies. Addressing challenges of conducting rigorous studies in community settings is crucial.

How Scientists Perceive CRISPR's Translational Promise and the Implications for Individuals with Genetic Conditions.

CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) somatic genome editing, an important promissory technology, presents a case study of the movement of basic scientists into translational research. In this paper, we explore how scientists experience the pulls of CRISPR's power and the pushes of economic and societal pressures in adopting new translational roles. Given basic scientists' emerging contact with and influence upon individuals with genetic conditions, we also examine how scientists understand the perspectives of affected populations, both as potential subjects of early experiments and as the patients who could receive future treatments. Finally, we consider the ethical implications of our findings and call for innovative approaches to translational research that help scientists engage with people with genetic conditions in early translational research.

Effects of a Community-Level Intervention on Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Crashes in California Cities: A Randomized Trial.

INTRODUCTION: This trial assesses the effects of a community-level alcohol prevention intervention in California on alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes. STUDY DESIGN: The study is a group RCT with cities as the unit of assignment to condition and as the unit of analysis. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: A total of 24 California cities with populations between 50,000 and 450,000 were chosen at random and roughly matched into pairs before randomly assigning 12 each to the intervention and control conditions. INTERVENTION: The intervention, aimed at reducing excessive drinking among adolescents and young adults, included driving under the influence sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols, and undercover operations to reduce service of alcohol to intoxicated patrons in bars, all including high visibility so the public would be aware of them. A measure of overall intervention intensity or dosage was created. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome was a monthly percentage of all motor vehicle crashes that were single vehicle nighttime crashes for drivers aged 15-30 years. RESULTS: Multilevel analyses were conducted to examine intervention effects on alcohol-related crashes among drivers aged 15-30 years. Crash data were obtained in 2018 with data preparation and analysis conducted in 2019. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated a 17% reduction in the percentage of alcohol-involved crashes among drivers aged 15-30 years relative to controls, which translates to about 310 fewer crashes. Dosage was found to have a statistically significant effect on crashes among this age group, although not in the expected direction. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced alcohol enforcement operations involving both community health and law enforcement agencies can help to reduce alcohol-impaired driving and related consequences among young people. Including measures of intervention dosage raises interesting questions about the understanding of the impact of the community intervention. Future studies should continue to further develop implementation strategies that may more effectively and efficiently reduce community alcohol-related harm.

Societal and Ethical Impacts of Germline Genome Editing: How Can We Secure Human Rights?

Genome editing has opened up the possibility of heritable alteration of the human germline. The potential of this powerful tool has spurred a call for establishing robust regulatory frameworks to outline permissible uses of genome editing and to map a rational and ethical course. In response, major national scientific bodies and international organizations have convened and released comprehensive reports outlining recommendations for ethical regulatory frameworks. Significantly, these include an emphasis on public participation and the development of principles to guide future applications of genome editing. While essential, public input and principles are not sufficient to ensure ethical uses of this technology. We propose an approach that relies not only on agreed-upon principles and a democratic process but requires a Human Rights Impact Assessment to evaluate the potential burdens that such biomedical interventions may place on human rights.