3.0 Prevention of Crime and Disorder

3.1 Rochford District Council is committed to further improving the quality of life for the people of the district by continuing to reduce crime and the fear of crime.

3.2 Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 introduced a wide range of measures for preventing crime and disorder and imposed a duty on Rochford District Council, Essex Police, Essex County Council and others to consider crime and disorder reduction in the exercise of all their duties. The Licensing Act 2003 reinforces this duty for local authorities.

3.3 The promotion of the licensing objective, to prevent crime and disorder, places a responsibility on licence holders to become key partners in achieving this objective.

3.4 When preparing an application for grant or variation of a premises licence or club premises certificate, applicants should consider if there are any particular issues effecting crime and disorder, having regard to their particular type of premises and/or activities proposed. Where an applicant identifies such issues they should include such steps as are considered appropriate to deal with them within the operating schedule.

3.5 Examples of some of the issues that impact on crime and disorder are: -

1. underage drinking,
2. drunkenness on premises,
3. public drunkenness,
4. drugs,
5. violent behaviour,
6. anti-social behaviour.

3.6 Applicants may wish to consider the following examples of control measures that might be included in their operating schedule, having regard to their particular type of premises and/or activities: -

1. effective and responsible management of premises,
2. training and supervision of staff,
3. adoption of best practice guidance, e.g. Safer Clubbing, the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy Toolkit and other voluntary codes of practice, including those relating to drinks promotions (e.g. The Point of Sale Promotions published by BBPA, Security in Design published by BBPA and Drugs and Pubs, published by BBPA),
4. acceptance of accredited 'proof of age' cards e.g. PASS, locally approved 'proof of age' cards e.g. 'Prove It' and/or 'new type' driving licences with photographs,
5. provision of effective CCTV in and around premises,
6. employment of Security Industry Authority licensed doorstaff,
7. provision of toughened or plastic drinking vessels,
8. provision of secure, deposit boxes for confiscated items ('sin bins'),
9. provision of litterbins and other security measures, such as lighting, outside premises,
10. membership of local 'Pubwatch' schemes or similar organisations.

3.7 Within the operating schedule for premises from which alcohol will be sold, a Premises Supervisor must be designated. The Licensing Authority will normally expect the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) to have been given the day to day responsibility for running the premises by the premises licence holder, and, as such, would normally be present on the licensed premises on a frequent basis. In addition to the DPS holding a personal licence, the Licensing Authority would strongly encourage the DPS to undergo training and to have experience commensurate with the nature and style of entertainment provided and the capacity of the premises.

3.8 Whilst the Licensing Act 2003 requires each sale of alcohol to be made or authorised by a personal licence-holder, there is no requirement for every sale to be made by a personal licence-holder or for them to be personally present at every transaction (except where the person making the sale is under 18 years of age). In determining whether real authorisation was given, the Guidance issued by the Secretary of State encourages the practice by personal licence-holders of giving a written authorisation to persons not holding a personal licence.

3.9 Certain temporary events are not required to be licensed but can be notified to the Licensing Authority using the Temporary Event Notice procedure. However, depending on the nature and location of such events, these can have serious crime and disorder implications. Organisers of these events are encouraged to submit their notification as soon as reasonably practicable to enable the police and the Licensing Authority to work with them to identify and reduce the risk of crime and disorder.