Police call time on extended opening hours
Thames Valley Police have expressed concern over the impact of round-the-clock drinking just days before legislation allowing pubs and bars to apply for extensions to their public entertainment licences comes into force.
At a licensing committee meeting last week, Oxford Police's licensing officer PC Bill Denver told the city's licensees of his concern over the practicalities of administering the change in legislation. "At the moment, policing runs until 4am," Denver claimed. "If bars extend their opening hours we will need to make policing run later which means more funding, or there will be a loss to policing at other times."
The Licensing Act of 2003 will permit bars and pubs to open for up to 24 hours a day, leading to fears that police resources will be insufficient for the increased workload.
Head of licensing issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers, Chris Allison, told The Oxford Student, "The implications for the Police Service in terms of additional workload are significant and officers will have to be diverted from other policing priorities and activities to undertake enforcement activity against those who are drunk and disorderly."
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police confirmed that the government has not made any additonal resources available in light of the new legislation.
The concern coincides with new figures showing a rise in drink-induced violence and vandalism in Oxford over the past four months, and comes amid attempts by police to block an extension to the licence of city club Po Na Na.
According to latest figures, public order offences quadrupled compared with the same period a year ago. Coordinator of council-led initiative Nightsafe, Karen Crossan, told The Oxford Student the organisation is concerned by the apparent jump, but pointed to the introduction of new police powers to issue £80 'on-the-spot' fines as partly responsible for the jump.
It had looked like Po Na Na's licence was under threat as Thames Valley Police presented a report to city councillors at the licensing committee meeting, citing evidence that drink-related public order offences have risen significantly between September and January.
However, councillors claimed there was no proof that any trouble was linked to the Po Na Na club in Magdalen Street, and approved extended opening hours.
Steve Thick, head of operations for the nightclub, welcomed the move, claiming, "This extension will allow the music to wind down and customers to leave in a more orderly fashion over a period of time."
Liberal Democrat councillor Tony Brett, who chaired last Thursday's meeting, defended its actions. "We were only granting extensions to public entertainment licences and there is no guarantee that magistrates will give corresponding extensions to liquor licences. At present these licences are not given past 2am."
The government is currently considering adding to the new legislation in order to target binge drinking.
3rd Feb 2005