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Major shake-up of drinks law ‘result in later night crimes’
‘We have not given pubs and clubs carte blanche to open 24 hours a day’
ALCOHOL-fuelled crime is occurring later at night because of 24-hour drinking, the city council claim.
While the number of recorded incidents has dropped since changes resulting from the Licensing Act 2003, police are busier than ever between 11pm and 6am, they say.
A report for Westminster City Council’s crime and disorder policy and scrutiny committee reveals a time-shift in boozy behaviour in the borough, with police making most arrests between 10pm and 11pm – one hour on from before the licensing changes, and a sharp rise in violent crime between 2am and 3am.
Overall the picture is one of hard-fought gains in a borough that has close to 4,000 licensed premises, more than any other in the UK.
The council says the number of alcohol-related crimes has fallen by an average of 63 a month, bringing the monthly average figure to 1,346 offences.
They have also bemoaned their inability to set their own licence fees, which are controlled at government level, saying this has hampered the battle against booze.
When it comes to handing out licences, the council claim to be tougher than most, awarding just 13 round-the- clock-licences.
Councillor Tony Devenish, the committee chairman, said: “Westminster’s tough licensing policies and close work with the police mean that despite the introduction of 24-hour drinking, we have managed to control and even reduce the amount of crime on the streets of central London.
“We have not given pubs and clubs carte blanche to open 24 hours a day, as the government encouraged us to do, because of the inevitable impact this would have on our local communities.
“We have kept licence extensions to a minimum, but even these appear to have had a knock-on effect with more crimes occurring later at night.
Elsewhere, authorities have not been as prudent and they are now blighted by severe levels of alcohol disorder.
“The act has also taken away our ability to set our own licence fees meaning we recoup a paltry £1.5million of our annual £5million costs to implement and enforce our licensing rules from the pubs and clubs concerned.
“The government knows local authorities – and ultimately council taxpayers – are picking up the bill because of the way fees are now set nationally but it is apparently refusing to do anything about it. While prudence and expertise can get us round the Licensing Act’s 24-hour drinking clause, it is much more difficult to plug a £3.5million hole, especially during a recession.”
Schemes to tackle alcohol-related problems include a joint Safer Night campaign in Leicester Square with the police to promote use of safe public transport routes home. |
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