California city considers midnight alcohol ban to fight crime – triggering backlash from bar owners

A California city is considering stopping alcohol sales at local bars after a certain time as a strategy to help curb crime.

Redlands is considering prohibiting local bars from selling alcohol after midnight — two hours before state law requires alcohol sales to stop — in hopes of reducing crime.

The proposal comes after Redlands Police Deputy Chief of Operations Jeremy Floyd said during a City Council meeting that the city’s uptick in crime over the past three years has been tied to late-night alcohol sales.

Officers have responded to more than 1,000 calls for service, according to Redlands Police. Authorities say the issues range from loitering and bars over-serving customers to more violent crimes.

“Over the last three years, we had 44 assault reports, 13 robberies and shootings and weapon violations,” Carl Baker, a spokesperson for Redlands, told NBC LA.

Bar owners, however, are pushing back against the proposal. Baron Bowman of Redlands Underground Restaurant and Bar in downtown Redlands told NBC LA that he sees the most customers after midnight, meaning the ban could have a significant impact on the local economy.

“It’s not fair to put businesses out of business,” he said. “People aren’t here to eat at midnight, typically. They go to Denny’s.”

Police, however, say late-night calls related to alcohol sales consume a significant amount of their resources, leaving officers with less ability to respond to other emergencies.

Bowman argued that much of the crime police are seeing has more to do with how people are behaving on the streets than with what is happening inside bars like his.

“People drinking out of liquor bottles and smoking blunts and fighting and smashing bottles in the parking garage,” Bowman told NBC LA. “If someone never comes to a bar, it’s not my responsibility if people are partying in the streets.”

The city has yet to fully review the proposal. A vote has not yet been scheduled.