Violent Crime & Street Robbery
Tackling Violent Crime in the Night-time Economy: Tackling Violent Crime in the Night-time Economy: Guidelines and Tactical Options Guidelines and Tactical Options
This reference document contains a selection of successful initiatives introduced throughout the UK that have had some success in tackling the problem of alcohol-related night time disorder.
Title: Tackling Violent Crime in the Night-time Economy
Author: Police
Standards Unit and Crime Directorate (Home Office)
Date published: April 2004
Number of pages: 20
The initiatives outlined in this report have been split into 3 categories: location, victim and offender focuses. They are then split into 3 types according to the approach they adopt: Enforcement, Intervention and Prevention.
Location
Places where violent crime is a high risk can be referred to as 'hot spots'. These come in 2 forms: Open public spaces and inside licensed premises.
Public Open Spaces
Enforcement
The various ways of enforcing public open spaces include:
Targeted patrolling during peak times, using Special Constabulary, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) or town wardens.
Deployment of a police video team - this can be used to confront licensees about poor practice such as drunken people leaving premises still drinking etc.
Search Powers, Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 - giving officers the authority to search people and vehicles coming into a certain area.
Deployment of a mobile police station to high demand areas.
Confiscation of alcohol from youths under the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 and Section 155 Licensing Act 2003 - includes confiscating open and closed containers.
Creating alcohol prohibition zones.
Issuing warnings for anti-social behaviour crimes such as bad language and urinating in the street. The offender's details are then recorded on a database and if they are warned again within 6 months a prosecution will follow.
Interventions
Initiatives that seek to intervene and stop night time disorder are:
CCTV in fixed strategic locations - so police resources can be better directed at peak times.
Mobile CCTV systems to respond to any displacement of crime due to fixed CCTV systems.
A combination of high profile patrols, CCTV and improved lighting along specific routes.
Deployment of bus marshals/ taxi marshals at designated taxi ranks and bus stations.
Creating temporary pedestrian zones in areas with multiple late night venues to prevent disputes over passing taxis.
Deploy mobile A&E centres for major pre-planned events to reduce the deployment of police staff to violent incidents at A&E.
If there is more than one taxi rank, they should be equal distance from the pubs and clubs but in opposite directions to ensure the dispersal of large groups.
In conjunction with the Local Transport Executive, ensure public transport provision is in place at peak times. Consider a cash free bus, where tickets are bought in clubs and pubs. Police the transport system by police officers, town wardens or other guardians.
Prevention
Deploy refuse collectors at peak times to remove potential weapons e.g. bottles.
Secure all glass and bottle banks.
Introduce staggered closing times of pubs and clubs to minimise the number of people competing for transport and food etc..
Use of CCTV in taxis.
Employ guardians at taxi ranks and bus stations. If this is not possible small measures such as railings to form queues will encourage some order.
Inside licensed premises
Enforcement
The following are initiatives that will enforce the law inside licensed premises.
Routine visits to hot spots - including the use of video recording inside premises.
Joint visits by the Fire Service, Environmental Health Officers and local authority licensing officers regarding compliance with relevant legislation.
Provide a 'Quality Charter Mark' to set the standards for licensed premises. This standard should be set by the industry and local authorities and can be used by pubs and clubs to attract custom. Regular checks of this standard should also be carried out.
Consider the use of local authority Health and Safety Inspectors to reinforce crime reduction advice given to licensees.
Use sniffer dogs on queues for clubs and pubs. This will act as a deterrent to potential drug dealing and use, which can lead to violent crimes.
Interventions
Serviceable CCTV installed in premises as part of license conditions.
Night Net Radio/ paging systems for all pubs within close proximity. The systems should also be directly linked to the police. This enables a rapid response from police to problems before they have time to escalate.
Prevention
Implement safety glasses or plastic glasses and bottles, to eliminate the use of them as weapons.
Door staff to wear high visibility jackets and photo ID badges. This will make them easily recognisable thus acting as a deterrent and making people feel safer in this environment.
Discourage 'happy hours' and drinks promotions.
Toilet attendants or CCTV in communal toilet areas. Toilet attendants provide authority figures as well as other hygiene/ wash room related services.
Victim
The following measures are aimed at the victim.
Enforcement
Offer referral schemes for victims of crime whose own drunkenness may have contributed to them being a victim.
Take photos of injuries for use as evidence later.
Interventions
Involve NHS and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in intelligence gathering. They may be able to help gather more accurate figures on violent crime because a lot of violence goes unreported. Agree a Protocol with NHS/ PCT for them to ask victims a standard pre-set questionnaire.
Consider a free phone direct line for victims at A&E to speak to police.
The creation of a licensee's forum can provide a stronger voice for pub owners, so they can voice issues of concern to local authorities, police and the alcohol industry.
Setting up pubwatch or clubwatch schemes
Prevention
A media campaign to make potential victims aware of the risks associated with drunkenness. Marketing can also offer advice on safe routes home, taxi schemes and buses.
Victim support referral for all victims, increasing the confidence in support services and increasing the likelihood of the victim supporting a prosecution.
Offender
Enforcement
More use of Section 6 of the Licensing Act 1902 allowing any individual convicted of 3 alcohol related offences within 12 months to be banned from buying alcohol from any licensed premises for 3 years.
More use of exclusion orders under the Licensed Premises Act 1980. This can be used to prevent a person convicted of a violent offence on licensed premises entering that or other specified premises again.
Use Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and acceptable behaviour contracts to tackle aggressive and drunken forms of ASB.
ASBOs on conviction under Section 1C of the Crime and Disorder Act (CDA) can be imposed after an offender has been convicted and sentenced to an offence. Bail conditions should be set to monitor the defendants behaviour whilst awaiting trial.
Forces should have a policy of positive action for low level public disorder to reinforce what is acceptable behaviour within the night-time economy.
There should be a licensing team to deal with licensees and door staff etc, that are offenders.
The accurate recording of alcohol related violence together with making links between premises is vital for evidential purposes and for police tasking and co-ordination.
Police should have a policy of victimless prosecutions where admissible evidence is available i.e. CCTV, showing disorder related to an assault where the victim will not press charges.
Make use of the new fixed penalty notice offences.
Interventions
Establish a licensing database to monitor licensees, licensed premises and registered door staff. This will be invaluable to monitoring the movement of rogue door staff.
Creation of a dedicated telephone number for the public to phone the police and confidentially report under age sales of alcohol.
Prevention
News of convictions should be publicised internally and locally, in newspapers, local radio and via internal communication mechanisms. This will act as a deterrent to others.
Promotion of the 'No ID no entry' theme.
Development of alcohol arrest referral scheme.
Last update: 17 November 2004