Item 5 - Chief Constables Report 2024-2025 WDC
West Dunbartonshire Council · 2 September 2025
Back to Licensing Board — 2 September 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 1 OFFICIAL West Dunbartonshire Licensing Report 2024-2025
Page 2
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 2 OFFICIAL Foreword It gives me great pleasure to provide the Annual Licensing Report for 2024/25, in accordance with Section 12(A) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. Throughout the last year I have been committed to improving confidence amongst our communities by working in partnership with a focus on prevention, early intervention and proactivity. This supports our broader 2030 vision of safer communities, less crime, supported victims and a thriving work force. In respect of Licensing, I recognise that success can only be achieved in collaboration with the 32 local authorities across Scotland. Along with contribution from many other associated national and local partners, this collaborative working ensures support for the licensed trade while also preventing alcohol fuelled violence, disorder and anti-social behaviour. Our joint campaigns which aim to protect children and young persons from harm will continue. In the year ahead, our approach will remain focused on prevention and collaboration to ensure high standards of service delivery. I will continue to encourage officers and staff to engage with licensed premises and take relevant and proportionate action where appropriate to ensure licensing standards are maintained in the interest of the safety of the people of Scotland. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank our local partnerships for their contribution to maintaining high standards and driving improvement where necessary within the Licensed Trade for the benefit of the communities we all serve. Chief Constable Jo Farrell
Page 3
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 3 OFFICIAL Police Scotland Licensing Overview – The Violence Prevention and Licensing Co-ordination Unit (VPLCU) sits within the National Policing Together Division and have staff based across the force. The department has overall responsibility for determining and delivering national licensing strategy and policy, providing advice, guidance and support to divisional licensing teams and undertaking other specialist functions. The VPLCU is a specialist department which consists of a small team of officers. The officers within the unit work with divisional licensing teams and partner agencies to help shape policy and strategy around the police licensing function. They provide advice to police licensing practitioners, operational officers, supervisors and policing commanders. The VPLCU seek to ensure that legislation governing the sale and supply of alcohol is applied consistently across the country and all opportunities are taken to stop the illegal or irresponsible sale, supply or consumption of alcohol with the intention of preventing and reducing crime and disorder. During 2024/2025, from a licensing perspective, our particular focus was on the following; • Scrutiny of the serious incidents of violence, disorder and antisocial behaviour linked to licensed premises. • Delivering and promoting campaigns which seek to address issues arising from the consumption of alcohol, particularly in relation to young persons and in the context of the night-time economy. • Governance and ongoing development of the National ICT Licensing System, known as “Inn Keeper”, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of liquor and civic licensing administration and management. Police Scotland continue to work on upgrading the National ICT system to ensure compliance with GDPR legislation. Each of the 13 Local Policing Divisions have a licensing team responsible for the day to day management of licensing administration, complying with statutory requirements as well as addressing any issues that may arise within licensed premises in their local area.
Page 4
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 4 OFFICIAL LICENSING BOARD AREA The Licensing Board area is policed by Argyll & West Dunbartonshire ‘L’ Division. Chief Superintendent Gary I’Anson is the Local Police Commander who has the responsibility for all day-to-day policing functions. The Local Area Commander for West Dunbartonshire is Chief Inspector Simon Shanks, who is based at Dumbarton Police Station. Local Policing Priorities Following our public consultation process, the policing priorities for Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Division, as set out in our Local Policing Plan are as follows; • Acquisitive Crime • Public Protection • Road Safety and Road Crime • Serious Organised Crime • Violence and anti-social behaviour Description of Board Area West Dunbartonshire includes the towns of Clydebank, Dumbarton and Alexandria and has a population of just over 89,000 people. It covers an area of around 98 square miles with residential and business communities that stretch along the banks of the Clyde to the shores of Loch Lomond. West Dunbartonshire contains approximately 224 licensed premises within the Board Area, which are concentrated in the built-up areas of the respective towns. There are numerous tourist attractions in the area including Dumbarton Castle and Balloch Castle Country Park, which receive a high concentration of visitors to the area, especially during the summer months. Uniformed Policing in the Board Area consists of response officers based at Dumbarton Police Station who are responsible for the day-to-day policing presence in our communities and are the first point of contact for much of our frontline response. All officers are provided with specialised support from the Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Divisional Licensing Team, working together to create strong and positive relationships with both residential and business premises, with the aim of creating a safer environment for people to live and work. To compliment response officers, West Dunbartonshire has a dedicated Community Policing Team who are embedded in our communities and address local issues at a local level.
Page 5
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 5 OFFICIAL In addition to both, our Community Engagement Team (CET) provide specialist support to the Division in respect of crime prevention, safer communities and architectural liaison work. The CET prioritises the Divert and Deter strands of the Serious Organised Crime Strategy and oversees local imbedding of the UK’s Counter Terrorism Strategy known as Contest. Further to this, the CET leads equality and diversity matters and oversees hate crime investigations within the division. Specialist departments within the division include the Criminal Investigation Department and the Public Protection Unit, responsible for the investigation of serious crime, sexual related crime and domestic abuse. Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Division is also supported by a number of national functions including Specialist Crime Division, Operational Support Division and Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing Division. We are also supported by our Contact, Command and Control Division who provide frontline advice, support and assistance to the public. Their highly skilled staff and officers provide 24-hour support to resolve enquiries, prioritise/task incidents and supply our frontline officers with operationally critical information OPERATION OF THE LICENSING (SCOTLAND) ACT 2005 The Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Divisional Licensing Team provides guidance and support to Local Policing in relation to the sale and supply of alcohol within our communities, ensuring licensed premises operate in accordance with liquor licensing legislation and promote responsible trading aligned with the Licensing Objectives of said Act, namely: • Preventing Crime and Disorder • Securing Public Safety • Preventing Public Nuisance • Protecting and Improving Public Health • Protecting Children and Young Persons from Harm All crimes, incidents and inspections of licensed premises are recorded by officers on the Police Scotland “Innkeeper” system. This system provides a means for licensing staff to review the operation of licensed premises, making sure they are supported where necessary in respect of identified issues/trends, thus ensuring best practice. Whilst the majority of licensed premises do operate in accordance with the legislation stipulated within the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, it is imperative that any irresponsible and illegal sale of alcohol is tackled robustly by the Police.
Page 6
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 6 OFFICIAL We have a range of options to assist us with these identified issues. These options form a staged but flexible response, from simply engaging with and advising the staff at licensed premises at the lower end of the scale, to grading premises as being ‘Problematic’ and requesting a review of a premise licence by the Licensing Board in relation to more serious matters. It should be noted there has been no premises licence reviews within the reporting period within West Dunbartonshire. During the period of this report, there was over 282 inspections recorded on Innkeeper by Police Scotland officers at licensed premises within the Board Area and 119 incidents attended. These can range from assaults, persons refusing to quit licensed premises, disorderly conduct and acquisitive crime. The Licensing Team are also responsible for processing all applications sent from West Dunbartonshire Council Regulatory Services on behalf of the Chief Constable, as a statutory consultee. All applications are thoroughly examined to ensure they are fit and proper and conform to the Licensing Boards Policy and/or objectives. In the reporting period 2024/2025, the Licensing Team have processed the following applications in West Dunbartonshire per Innkeeper: Occasional Licences 370 Personal Licences 111 Premises Licences 4 Variation to Licence Request 11 The Licensing Team also collaborate with a variety of partner agencies, including Licensing Standards Officers, Environmental Health Officers and Trading Standards, ensuring licensed premises are running safe and legitimate businesses. Working together ensures that the Licensing Objectives are met in conjunction with local and national policing priorities, providing a safe environment for residents and visitors to the area. The Local Authority Licensing Standards Officers and Licensing Sergeant work together to resolve issues at the earliest possible stage. This can range from interventions at licensed premises or working collaboratively with premises by providing education/best practice, to improve working practices and deter criminality, in line with the Licensing Objectives.
Page 7
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 7 OFFICIAL PREVENTING THE SALE OR SUPPLY OF ALCOHOL TO CHILDREN OR YOUNG PEOPLE The unlawful sale and supply of alcohol to young people not only affects their health and wellbeing but leads to other associated risks including becoming involved in violence, being placed in vulnerable or dangerous situations, and participation in anti- social behaviour. Protecting children and young persons from harm is one of the five licensing objectives. Sections 102 – 109 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 are offences specifically related to children and young persons. In terms of section 102 – the sale of alcohol to a child or young person, the premises licence holder has vicarious liability (subject to a due diligence defence) in relation to these offences. The Act defines a child as a person under the age of 16 years, and a young person as a person aged 16 or 17 years old. A collaborative approach continues to be undertaken to address concerns and deter such offences within West Dunbartonshire, involving partners from Health, Education and the Local Authority. One such initiative was Operation Ballaton, a multi-agency partnership approach to reduce the impact of anti-social behaviour, alcohol consumption and promotion of water safety within Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. These environs had seen a large increase in young person’s attendance, especially during favourable weather. This resulted in numerous offences being detected, seizures of alcohol from young persons and referrals being made to partner agencies to further support/educate them in respect of the dangers connected to alcohol abuse. The national ‘It’ll cost you” campaign was also supported within West Dunbartonshire, helping to raise awareness that proxy purchasing is a criminal offence. Officers worked with both licensed premises and the community to target areas of concern, thus disrupting and reducing such occurrences. Police Scotland Youth Engagement Officers also work closely with schools and youth organisations to educate and support young people regarding the significant risks associated with alcohol and/or substance abuse. This includes the Choices for Life Programme which tackles several key areas which affect young people, to further reduce harm and break the cycle of substance abuse.
Page 8
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 8 OFFICIAL TACKLING SERIOUS AND ORGANISED CRIME Serious and Organised Crime Groups pose a risk within the West Dunbartonshire area, in respect of public safety and community wellbeing. Serious and Organised Crime encompasses a vast array of criminality, and its members may use licensing to seemingly legitimise their incomes, providing a plausible source of revenue whist acting as a cover for illegal activities. The Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Divisional Licensing Team, in conjunction with both Divisional and National Intervention Departments, continue to robustly ensure checks are carried out in relation to all relevant applications. Particular attention is paid to those which may be of interest to Organised Crime Groups, to reduce opportunities for these groups to infiltrate legitimate businesses within the board area. Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Division also fully engages with Scotland’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy aiming to Divert, Deter, Detect and Disrupt serious and organised crime and the harm it causes. Serious and Organised Crime is not just about drugs but is also linked to Human Trafficking, Cyber Crime and Sexual Exploitation. We continue to work with licence holders in relation to the dangers around substance misuse that can be found within premises. Where issues are identified, these are highlighted to the licence holders and/or responsible persons, with advice and guidance provided to assist in addressing said issues. Where inadequate action is taken, premises and individual licence holders will be reported to the Licensing Board. Our Policing Teams and Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Licensing Department regularly engage with the local community and staff within licensed premises ensuring that there is a comprehensive intelligence picture in relation to serious and organised criminal activity. The Licensing Department share information with the relevant departments, working to prevent persons involved in this type of activity access to the licensing trade. PROPOSED ACTIVITY FOR THE YEAR AHEAD During the next year Police Scotland will continue to work in all areas of licensing in line with the Divisional and National Policing Priorities, to ensure that we continue in our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of the people and communities of West Dunbartonshire. As outlined, the Divisional Licensing Team have strong working relationships with our partners, and we will continue to build on these in the forthcoming year. We will continue to share information where appropriate and consult other agencies to assist in solving problems or concerns that arise involving licence holders.
Page 9
OFFICIAL NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page | 9 OFFICIAL Police Scotland will continue to monitor all incidents in and around licensed premises and where shortcomings are identified, will provide support in respect of tackling these issues. Divisional Licensing Teams will use interaction, intervention and support prior to requesting a review of a premises licence unless the matter, due to its severity, requires to be presented before the Licensing Board immediately. We will continue to tackle the proxy purchasing of alcohol on behalf of children and young persons through intelligence led policing and community education, endorsing and supporting the national ‘It will cost you” proxy purchase campaign. Intelligence led policing of all licensed premises will continue, responding to the concerns of our communities and taking enforcement action where and when necessary. We will support the licensing trade in their efforts to prevent and deter violence in premises. This will continue to be carried out by tasking visits to premises where violence has been identified as an issue and by ensuring that staff are well prepared for dealing with any such incidents. We will continue to seek exclusion orders for persons convicted of committing acts of violence on licensed premises. Only by working together can we achieve the shared vision of a West Dunbartonshire which has a positive, equitable and inclusive future. CONCLUSION To conclude we would like to thank you for your continued support during what has been a challenging year for all. We have all had to adapt to a new way of working and ever changing circumstances which has been embraced by all. We look forward to a safe and healthy 2025/2026.