European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Violence has been declining in the UK for two decades, with most assaults being alcohol related. The Licensing Act 2003 (England and Wales) aimed to reduce alcohol-related crime, giving local authorities control over premises licensing. We performed a systematic review of original research with the primary outcome of change in violence rates since the Act's implementation, including hospital-defined and police-defined measures of violence. ⋯ Seven found reduced violence rates after the Act's implementation, three found increased rates and five found no significant change. A subset of nine studies analysed temporal distribution, eight finding displacement of incidents later. This is the most complete analysis to date of the effect of this Act on violence, finding a lack of reliable evidence to answer the research question, but little to suggest that the Act has markedly impacted already-declining violence rates.