IN A CITY whose too-many homicides are so often the result of complex societal and criminal problems, you'd think authorities would be quick to enforce simple regulations that could help lower the body count.

But you'd be wrong. A good example can be found in the city's dealings with a raucous hip-hop club called the Tunnel.

Last month, a 19-year-old college student was shot dead during a robbery as he walked toward the Eutaw Street club. In April, a 19-year-old barber was gunned down in his shop after an argument with a man outside the club.

For two years, police have recorded hundreds of complaints about the club, have responded to violent incidents in its vicinity and have found girls as young as 12 and 13 inside.

At the very least this constitutes a public nuisance that city authorities ought to be concerned about abating. But unfortunately neither the liquor board nor the zoning board has not taken advantage of opportunities to revoke the Tunnel's license.

Last year, a group of angry residents and business operators joined the police and area organizations in trying to block the renewal of the club's liquor license. To no avail.

What's more, the Tunnel's zoning permit is conditional, which means that the zoning board could revoke it for any of the most minor infractions. But to date, no such action has been taken.

Why not take a tough stance against clubs like the Tunnel, and by extension cut down on or eliminate a small but important segment of the city's violent crime problem? It's an easy win for city officials -- and it would permit police to divert their attention to the more complex crime issues.

As many as 32 officers have been pulled from duty in other districts, for example, to deal with rowdy crowds at the Tunnel. On an average weekend, city police deploy 10 officers around the club to keep closing time from turning into a melee. Patrol cars even block traffic on Eutaw and Mulberry streets in order to prevent drive-by shootings. That's to say nothing of the fights, or the two murders now associated with the club.

Central District commanders say no other club in Baltimore gives rise to as much violence as the Tunnel. It's time for the liquor and zoning boards to confront this problem.