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**Keeping Nightlife Safe: The Arlington Restaurant Initiative**
November 2019 | Volume 12 | Issue 10

A vibrant nightlife is a plus for many communities—adding  to the local economy, attracting new residents, and raising real estate values.  But it has its drawbacks too, especially when hearty partiers have overindulged  in alcohol. The consequences can include drunk driving, assaults, property  damage, and undesirable public behavior.

 Response to this problem traditionally falls to law  enforcement alone, and often requires officers working overtime details, which  can stretch the department’s staff and budget thin. But in Arlington, Virginia,  local law enforcement is getting a helping hand from establishments that serve  alcohol.  
A Collaborative Community Policing Program
Known as the Arlington Restaurant Initiative (ARI), it’s a  collaborative community policing program started by the Arlington County Police  Department (ACPD) in partnership with county agencies and local restaurants. Its  goal is to encourage the adoption of best practices for alcohol service, public  safety, food safety, and fire and zoning compliance by local restaurants. 

 And since it was launched in February 2018, it has significantly  improved not only the safety and overall quality of life in and around  participating restaurants, but the department’s relationships with the business  owners and community. This has been especially true in Clarendon, a neighborhood  in Arlington County, Virginia, where ARI was first implemented. 

 Located just three miles from Washington, D.C., Clarendon  is home to about 15 restaurants, all of which have thriving bar scenes, attracting  as many as 7,000 young people from all over the area on weekend nights.
Reducing Costs and Overtime Shifts
To handle crowd control and alcohol related violations, ACPD  had to create a supplemental overtime detail which eventually grew to 20  officers. In addition to the cost of overtime pay, the officers on nightlife detail,  which mostly involved arresting drunks and breaking up fights from 9 p.m. until 3  a.m., were suffering from duty fatigue.

 “We knew we had reached a tipping point,” says ACPD Master  Police Officer Jim Mastoras. “The officers had developed negative feelings, and  so had the restaurant owners who felt that our enforcement activities, and even  just our presence alone, was hurting business. So I searched for a better way,  something that would bring all the affected parties together in a mutually  satisfactory solution.”

 Searching online, Mastoras discovered The Best Bar None, a  United Kingdom-based initiative designed to promote responsible management of  alcohol-licensed premises. “I described it to a COPS Office staffer I met, and  told him I’d like to replicate it. He was equally enthusiastic and said to run  with it.” ACPD Chief Jay Farr was supportive too, and the program was launched  in partnership with Arlington County government agencies.
How ARI Works
Like Best Bar None, ARI  is a voluntary accreditation program which recognizes establishments that are  committed to responsible alcohol management. It provides a wide range of  resources and staff training to restaurants that participate and agree to  maintain the policies and standards set out in the ARI Accreditation Standards and Guide for  Writing Policy. 

 Developed with input from local restaurant owners, these  standards not only lower the incidence of undesirable behavior, but they also  reduce the restaurant’s liability for violation of the state’s alcohol laws,  property damage, and injuries related to drunken behavior.

 To become accredited, restaurants must write and submit  employee policies to meet ARI standards. These include procedures that prevent  underage drinking; participation in the Bar Bystander program, which teaches  staff how to safely intervene in violent or stalking incidents; and the  establishment of criteria for calling the police. 

 The restaurant’s management and their serving and security  staff must also participate in ARI training in subject areas including responsible  alcohol service, fake identification detection, CPR, NARCAN training for  preventing opioid overdose deaths, and other safety procedures.
Developing Personal Relationships is Key*Training Provided to ARI Participants*
Police officers, fire marshals, Virginia Commonwealth attorneys, and other employees of Arlington County provide training to restaurant staff in such areas as the following: 
- TiPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) to prevent  intoxication, underage drinking, and drunk driving
- Responsible alcohol service
- Fake identification detection and deterrence
- De-escalation techniques 
- Public safety expectations and procedures if a  crime occurs
- Fire safety and occupancy
- CPR  
- Bar Bystander Program, intervention training to  reduce sexual and domestic assault
- Compliance with food safety regulations
- Active Shooter Training
- Working with zoning ordinances

The success of initiatives such as ARI, however, depends  upon trust, communication, and personal relationships with the establishment’s  owners and staff. Says Mastoras, who is the Restaurant Liaison Officer, “I was  in Clarendon, visiting the establishments on a regular basis. They needed to  know that I would be there for them [and] supportive in every way I could. And  I told them that if they did participate and adhered to the standards, they  would have fewer calls for service, which turned out to be true.”

 Asked if there were any challenges to overcome, he admits  that some owners refused to participate. “But I kept going back to them, and  eventually they joined the program.” Another area of concern was training the  officers to adopt a community policing approach and focus more on relationships  than on enforcement. 

 “I said, ‘If you can have the same outcome without an  arrest, use discretion. Also, try to have positive interactions early in the  night so the good feelings will transfer to later in the evening.’ And since we  started ARI, I have heard nothing but positive things from our officers. A  number of them have established personal relationships with security staff and  others who work in the restaurants, and have more job satisfaction as a result.”
Benefits to Restaurants, Visitors, Police, and the Community 
There are big advantages for the restaurants, too. The  training they receive not only improves service and safety for everybody in the  restaurant, but also lessens their liability. Says Nadim Kouttab, General  Manager of Whitlow’s on Wilson, “The training and services have been terrific.  Among other things, my door staff learned how to spot fake IDs, which keeps us  out of trouble.”

 “I’ve been here 22 years,” Kouttab adds, “and never had a  relationship this good with police and other agencies—like the fire department  and county code enforcement. I have relationships with participating  restaurants, too. We communicate regularly, giving each other a heads-up if  there’s a group causing trouble, for instance. ARI has created a sense of  community.”

 Another benefit is that, like all other ARI-accredited  restaurants, Kattoub’s establishment is promoted by the Arlington Office of  Economic Development and the Chamber of Commerce. What’s more, by reducing disorderly  conduct and crime, local nightlife is more attractive to visitors, which makes businesses  better and the community happier. 

 As for the ACPD, they too have benefitted—from much-improved  relations with the local businesses and residents, as well as fewer calls for service.  And because the nightlife detail of 20 officers is now reduced to eight,  there’s a financial benefit as well.  
Replicable in any Community with an Active Nightlife 
Wherever there are large numbers of people drinking, there  is the danger of disorderly behavior, prop­erty damage, litter, noise, and  violence. And though law enforcement will respond to these problems, dealing  with rowdy drunks, making arrests for misdemeanors, and babysitting intoxicated  individuals while they sober up is a detail no officer relishes. But by working  with bars, restaurants, local government and other stakeholders, law  enforcement can prevent many of these problems from occurring in the first  place—making everybody happy. 

Agencies interested in adopting a similar program can get more information on the ARI  website, read The Arlington Restaurant Initiative: A Nightlife Policing Strategy to Improve Safety and Economic Viability, or listen to Stemming the Nightlife Crisis. The publication and podcast were developed by the COPS Office in collaboration with ACPD.
      Faye  Elkins      Sr. Technical Writer      
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The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

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