Memorandum submitted by the Police Federation
of England & Wales
BACKGROUND
1. The Police Federation of England and
Wales welcomes this inquiry by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee
into the Licensing Act 2003. As the staff association that represents
the interests of 140,000 police officers, from the ranks of Constable
to Chief Inspector, we bring together views on the welfare and
efficiency of the force, and take responsibility for their presentation
to both Government and other opinion formers. For more information
about the Police Federation please visit www.polfed.org.
2. Whilst we welcome the opportunity to
submit evidence on a range of topics, we do not feel it is our
place to comment on all of the subjects so we have limited our
response to those areas we feel are of most relevance.
Has there been any change in levels of public
nuisance, numbers of night-time offences or perceptions of public
safety since the Act came into force?
3. The Federation does not hold statistics
on the number of night-time offences recorded by forces in England
and Wales (in fact we are unaware of any centrally held data of
this nature). It is therefore difficult for us to provide empirical
evidence of a correlation between the introduction of the Licensing
Act of 2003 and an increase in public nuisance or drink-related
offences caused during the night. However we are aware that the
recently produced Home Office report[2]
on the early impact of the Act concludes that there are "no
clear signs yet that the abolition of a standard closing time
has significantly reduced problems of crime and disorder".
4. We also receive feedback from our members
who work on the frontline teams that police the night time economy.
What is evident from that feedback is the detrimental effect that
the Act is having on an already overstretched police service.
5. It is our understanding that one of the
key motivations behind introducing the new legislation—via
the abolition of set licensing hours—was to do away with
the focal point for public disorder which had traditionally been
closing time. But it is evident that this has not been achieved.
The Home Office report states that "The scale of change in
licensing hours has been both variable and modest: while the majority
of pubs have extended their hours, most of these extensions have
been short". This certainly chimes in with comments that
our members have made about the persistence of the closing-time
flashpoint for potential trouble; however this might now be an
hour later than was previously the case.
6. In addition, the greater flexibility
which was introduced by the Act has resulted in a more staggered
series of closing times which stretch later into the night/early
morning. In the majority of inner city areas this means maintaining
a response shift at a higher resilience level (maximum number
of officers available to answer calls for service) for a longer
period of time. As a result, some officers are now working later
shifts. For example, in one force an "afternoon" shift
now stretches from 6.00 pm until 4.00 am. Aside from the obvious
detrimental effect to the individual officer, this also has a
knock-on effect of stretching the resources available to other
members of the public that need assistance to the absolute limits.
All too frequently our members cannot attend to emergency calls
because they are tied up with intervening in pub fights or drunken
street brawls.
7. These problems have been further compounded
by the dawn of the "super pub"—very large drinking
establishments (with capacities in the region of 1,000 people)
that are very difficult to secure and police effectively without
a significant drain on police resources. It would appear that
the Act has done little to reverse the trend which has seen an
increase in such establishments.
8. It is clear then that the Act is yet
to achieve its two main aims—to encourage more responsible
attitudes to drinking and to reduce drink related crime and disorder
in town centres. This is not surprising as the consumption of
alcohol remains a fundamental part of most cultural aspects of
British life and drinking to excess remains to be seen as laudable
and to be encouraged by a significant proportion of the population
(not to mention the major contribution that the taxation of alcohol
makes to the Treasury's coffers). It is our belief that more action
needs to be taken to eradicate the cheap deals, "happy hours"
and "two-for-one" promotions prevalent in many pubs,
clubs, supermarkets and corner shops which encourage binge drinking
and contribute to the persistence of alcohol abuse among the young
and underage population.
9. For the foreseeable future it would appear
that the primary responsibility for dealing with the consequences
of excessive drinking will remain with the police service. What
we would call for is an honest assessment by the Government of
the impact of the increasing night-time economy—fuelled
by alcohol consumption—on the resources and capabilities
of the police service and to ensure that forces are given sufficient
resources to enable their officers to ensure the safety of themselves
and the public whilst complying with health and safety regulations
and working-time legislation.
What has been the impact of the Act on the performance
of live music?
10. We have no comment to make. This is
a matter for local authorities and music industry.
What has been the financial impact of the Act
on sporting and social clubs?
11. This is not an area for us to comment
on as we only deal with those who break the law.
Whether the Act has led, or looks likely to lead,
to a reduction in bureaucracy for those applying for licences
under the new regime and for those administering it?
12. We believe that it has simply moved
(and increased) the bureaucracy to the local authority. The police
have no less work that is alcohol-related.
Whether the anticipated financial savings for
relevant industries will be realised?
13. We have no comment to make other than
that we think it would be very unlikely that the police service
will benefit.
Other areas of interest?
We would be interested in any research that
may be undertaken to see if the licensing of the security industry
(door staff in particular) has been successful in achieving its
aims. It is apparent to us that in many towns and cities it has
become a growth industry for criminals who have little to fear
as a result of legitimising their methods of generating extortion
income.
September 2008
2 Research Report 04: "The impact of the Licensing
Act 2003 on levels of crime and disorder: an evaluation";
Mike Hough, Gillian Hunter, Jessica Jacobson, Stefano Cossalter,
ICPR, King's College London; Home Office March 2008; ISBN 978-1-84726-612-5. Back
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