Night club patrons who feel safe will return: Evidence to encourage management to address club violence

•We examined whether club security practices were related to patrons' experiences.•Club patrons were interviewed entering and again leaving the club.•Club patrons who reported an active security presence described feeling safer.•Patrons who felt safer reported being more likely to return to the same club.•Managers who implement proactive security measures may see more return clientele.

IntroductionThere is substantial evidence that heavy drinking is associated with aggression and violence. Most managers of drinking establishments are required to maintain a security staff to deal with disruptive patrons who threaten an organization's business or legal status. However, managers may focus little on minor instances of aggression even though these may escalate into more serious events. We hypothesize that proactive security efforts may positively affect patrons' perceptions of nighttime safety and influence their decisions to return to the club, thereby affecting the club's bottom line.MethodData for this study were collected from entry and exit surveys with 1714 attendees at 70 electronic music dance events at 10 clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area (2010–2012). Participants were asked to report on observations and experiences with aggressive behavior while in the club, their overall perception of club safety, and their plans to return to the same club in the next 30 days. Mediational multiple regression analysis was used to relate observations of club security to perceptions of personal safety and plans to return to the club.ResultsReported observations of an active club security staff were positively related to perceptions of personal safety. Safety perceptions, in turn, were significantly related to plans to return to the club. The indirect path between perceptions of security and plans to return was significant as well.ConclusionsThe results suggest that an active security presence inside clubs can encourage club attendance by providing an environment where minor altercations are minimized, contributing to the perception of club safety.Practical ApplicationsEvidence that proactive security efforts appear to increase return customers might motivate managers to implement better security policies.