Intervention or Involvement: A Video Observational Analysis of Bouncers in Aggressive Encounters

ABSTRACT

Little is known about how bouncer–patron interactions may influence a bouncer’s use of physical aggression. To address this gap, we offer a micro-interactional analysis examining real-life aggressive bouncer behavior captured by venue surveillance cameras. Quantitative results show that bouncer physical aggression is associated with interactions in which bouncers are directly involved as a conflict party, but not with interactions where they solely intervene as a third-party. Further, a qualitative analysis of emotional cues identifies anger as a plausible mechanism underpinning bouncer aggression. We consider the implications of these findings for night-time economy violence prevention strategies and discuss the relevance of video data for barroom research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Velux Foundation and the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF-6109-00210).

Notes on contributors

Lasse Suonperä Liebst

Lasse Suonperä Liebst is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen. His research interests include micro-sociological theory, human and animal ethology, interpersonal violence, bystander behavior, and the development of quantitative methods to the study of face-to-face interaction dynamics. His recent work has appeared in American Psychologist, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, PLOS One, and Sociological Science.

Peter Ejbye-Ernst

Peter Ejbye-Ernst is a PhD Candidate at the The Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and University of Copenhagen. His research interests include the study of guardianship, interpersonal conflicts, behavioral analysis, and the sociology of everyday behavior.

Richard Philpot

Richard Philpot is Research Fellow at the Department of Psychology, Lancaster University. His research focuses on bystander helping and anti-social behavior in public emergencies. This work combines video data analysis (from CCTV footage and body cameras) with self-report measures and agent-based modeling techniques.

Marie Bruvik Heinskou

Marie Bruvik Heinskou is Commissioning Editor at Hans Reitzels Publishing House and External Lecturer at The Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. Her research concerns micro-sociological studies of violence, sexual violence, bystanders, and the social dynamics between victim and offender.

Jakob Demant

Jakob Demant is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen. His field of research is the social context of alcohol and drug use and online/digital deviance from the perspective of criminology, micro-sociology, and digital sociology.

Kasper Lykke Dausel

Kasper Lykke Dausel is Graduate Student at the Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen. His research interests include human ethology, criminology, bystander behavior, and quantitative methods.

Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard

Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard is a Senior Researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement and Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen. Her research interests include interactional aspects of offending, victimization and guardianship, agency, street culture, observational methods, and urban ethnography in South Africa.