Could extending bar closing times—or eliminating them altogether—have an effect on late-night crime in Seattle's busy nightlife districts? It's something City Attorney Pete Holmes has been talking about recently, and Publicola has the story:

The theory is that by encouraging staggered closing times, the thousands of customers who roll out onto the street at  am would be dispersed over the night. This would take pressure off of SPD, allowing them to do better, more focused enforcement. It would also help curb drunk driving (at 2 am there is little taxi cab availability due to the spiked demand for cabs with everyone settling up at the same time.) There would also be less concentration of noise on the streets at 2am solving one of the most frequent complaints from downtown residents. And of course with an increase in operating hours comes an increase in revenue (and jobs) for bars, and in turn, more revenue to the State and City.

Current State Liquor Laws mandating 2am closing for liquor licensees would need to be changed, but this would not take legislative action, and the program could be limited to Seattle for a limited test period.

I have a few friends who work in the nightlife industry who are adamantly against extending bar hours, but haven't yet been able to clearly articulate why. More on that soon.