It used to be a weekly occurrence for Dr Mark Winder – sitting a family down to break the news that their child had sustained a serious head injury that could be catastrophic.
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But for the last six months, the neurosurgeon at St Vincent's Hospital hasn't had a single callout for a serious assault.
He is convinced the lockout laws and alcohol restrictions implemented in February are the reason and, for the first time, a comprehensive review has provided the statistical proof.
Assault rates in the inner city have fallen by up to 40 per cent since the laws were introduced and there has been no displacement in alcohol-fuelled crime to surrounding areas like Bondi, Newtown and Double Bay, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has found.
BOCSAR director Don Weatherburn, who released the study on Thursday, said the drop in alcohol-related crime was "simply precipitous".
"It is certainly one of the most dramatic effects I've seen in my time, of policy intervention to reduce crime," he said.
"It doesn't look, despite all the forecasts, as if the problem simply shifted elsewhere."
Assaults around The Star casino, which falls just outside the lockout zone, increased but the change was not statistically significant, BOCSAR concluded.
However, Dr Weatherburn said there is no evidence yet that Sydneysiders are drinking less.
He said it was more likely that assaults had decreased, without shifting elsewhere, because fewer people were heading into the city and notorious hotspots like Kings Cross were becoming a thing of the past.
"The people who would normally be concentrated in one spot in Kings Cross and who are prone to violence are now spread out in all sorts of different locations, rather than bumping into one another," he said.
Official data provided to a recent parliamentary inquiry showed that taxi patrons, footpath traffic and train customers in Kings Cross had fallen significantly.
The laws, combined with the negative publicity following the deaths of Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie, had probably caused revellers to go to other areas, the report said.
Business groups told a recent parliamentary inquiry that revenues in Kings Cross had fallen between 20 and 50 per cent and several club and bar owners said the restrictions have forced them to close.
However, staff at St Vincent's Hospital said lives had undoubtedly been saved.
Dr Winder said head injuries have fallen by 50 per cent and, for the last six months, he hasn't had one serious enough to warrant the dreaded conversation with family members.
Trauma manager Tony Grabs said "we've seen less heartache, less injuries, less admissions".
The death of teenager Daniel Christie on New Year's Eve, 2013, prompted widespread debate on alcohol-fuelled violence and eventually led the state government to introduce a suite of measures including 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks in the city, a ban on takeaway alcohol after 10pm and a freeze on new liquor licenses in the city precinct.
The changes were associated with an immediate and substantial 32 per cent reduction in assaults in Kings Cross, followed by a less immediate but substantial 40 per cent reduction in assaults across the CBD, BOCSAR found.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Justice and Police, Troy Grant, said the results showed the lockouts were working but there was no reason to roll the model out to the rest of Sydney or the state because assault rates were not rising elsewhere.
He said a "one-size-fits-all" model would not work, especially in regional areas where liquor accords were stronger.
The government is conducting a two-year statutory review of the laws.
