Item 6 - Chief Constables Report 2021 - 2022 WDC
West Dunbartonshire Council · 1 November 2022
Back to Licensing Board — 1 November 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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OFFICIAL Page | 1 OFFICIAL ARGYLL & WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE Licensing Report 2021-2022
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OFFICIAL Page | 2 OFFICIAL Foreword It gives me great pleasure to provide the Annual Licensing Report for 2021/22, in accordance with Section 12(A) Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. Throughout this year Local Authorities and Police Scotland worked hard to support licensed premises in their road to recovery as Covid-19 restrictions were being lifted. Collaboration is vital to ensure these businesses can flourish, providing much needed employment for our communities as well as a safe environments for people to socialise. Police Scotland will continue to work closely with Local Authorities, as well as other stakeholders, to ensure there is a fair and consistent approach across all 32 Local Authorities throughout Scotland to aid this recovery. Preventing alcohol fuelled violence, disorder and antisocial behaviour remains a priority for Police Scotland and I believe that working together we can reduce this through early intervention and enforcement. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our local partnerships and the good work they carry out. With their support Police Scotland and partners can continue to drive improvements in licensing. I will continue to ensure that all officers and staff recognise the importance of working together with key partners, including the Licensing Trade, in an effort to improve licensing standards nationally. Mr Iain Livingstone QPM Chief Constable Police Service of Scotland Police Scotland Licensing Overview The Violence Prevention and Licensing Co-ordination Unit (VPLCU) sits within Safer Communities based at Dalmarnock Police Station, Glasgow. The VPLCU upholds the two tier structure for licensing which supports both national and local priorities through service delivery. They have overall responsibility for determining and delivering national licensing strategy and policy, by providing advice, guidance and support to divisional licensing teams as well as undertaking other specialist functions. The Violence Prevention and Licensing Co-ordination Unit is a specialist department which consists of a small team of officers, based in Glasgow. 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 practical and tactical 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
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OFFICIAL Page | 3 OFFICIAL illegal or irresponsible sale, supply or consumption of alcohol with the intention of preventing and reducing crime and disorder. During 2020/2021, from a licensing perspective, our particular focus will be on the following; 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. Licensing Board Area The Licensing Board area is policed by Argyll and West Dunbartonshire Division Chief Superintendent Lynn Ratcliff is the Local Police Commander who has the responsibility for all day-to-day policing functions. Local Policing Priorities Following our public consultation process, the policing priorities for West Dunbartonshire, as set out in our Local Policing Plan are as follows; Public Protection Serious Organised Crime Violent Crime Road Safety and Road Crime Acquisitive Crime Description of Board Area The Area Commander for West Dunbartonshire is Chief Inspector Coleen Wylie, who is based at Dumbarton Police Station. Uniformed Response Police Officers for West Dunbartonshire deploy from Dumbarton Police Station, supported by Community Police Officers based in Clydebank Police Station, Dumbarton Police Station and Alexandria One Stop Shop. All officers are provided with specialised support from the 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 in. There are 331 licenced premises in West Dunbartonshire, which are concentrated in the built up areas of Clydebank, Dumbarton and Alexandria. Each area has a nightclub venue, with the concentration of the night time economy within the town centre environs. In the summer season, the area of Balloch and Loch Lomond receives an influx of tourists, including large groups of young persons, with Balloch Country Park receiving a particularly high concentration of visitors. A multi-agency
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OFFICIAL Page | 4 OFFICIAL operation including West Dunbartonshire Council, British Transport Police, Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park and Police Scotland was carried out in the Balloch area to target and deter anti-social behaviour and ensure that underage drinking and associated proxy purchasing was prevented and detected. 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 prevention of underage sales at licensed premises and to ensure adherence to this Act. All crimes, incidents and inspections of licensed premises are recorded by officers on the Police “Innkeeper” system. This system provides a means for licensing staff to review such matters, supporting premises where necessary and giving positive feedback where appropriate. The Licensing Team also collaborate with a variety of partner agencies, including Licensing Standards Officers, Ministry of Defence Police, Environmental Health Officers, Trading Standards and Border Control, to ensure that licensed premises are running safe and legitimate businesses. Working together ensures that licensing objectives are fully met in conjunction with local and national policing priorities. The Licensing Standards Officers and Licensing Sergeant work together in order to resolve issues at the earliest possible stage. A recent example of this was working with licensed premises for the new outside areas due to Covid 19 restrictions. This involved meeting at premises to view and discuss applications as well as making suggestions to ensure all applicants were operating within the guidance set out by the Scottish Government. Preventing the sale or supply of alcohol to children or young people In the last year across West Dunbartonshire, the unlawful sale and supply of alcohol to young people frequently resulted in anti-social behaviour. This resulted in several persons being reported to the Procurator Fiscal for purchasing alcohol for persons under 18 years of age. Numerous young persons had alcohol seized after being observed with alcohol in public places during targeted operations, with referrals being made to partner agencies to further support and educate young persons in respect of the dangers connected to alcohol abuse. Community Police Officers continue to monitor and target hotspot areas disrupting this activity as appropriate. There are 4 dedicated Youth Engagement Officers in West Dunbartonshire who work closely with schools and youth organisations in order to educate young people on the significant risks associated with the consumption of alcohol. First year pupils are all able to attend the Choices for Life Programme which tackles a number of issues for young people including the effects of alcohol. The YEO’s also hold small working groups for S4-S6 discussing habits, affects and risks associated with alcohol consumption.
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OFFICIAL Page | 5 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. The licensed trade, particularly on sales, is viewed as an area of interest to such groups due to their primarily cash orientated business model and the ability to launder money from the proceeds of crime in such establishments. The Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Divisional Licensing Team, in conjunction with both Divisional and National Intervention support, 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, in order to reduce opportunities for these groups to infiltrate legitimate businesses within the West Dunbartonshire Licensing Board area. Police Scotland also 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. 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. Police Scotland will continue to monitor all incidents in and around licensed premises and where shortcomings are identified, will provide support and/or plans 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 come before the Licensing Board immediately. We will continue to tackle agent purchasing of alcohol on behalf of children and young persons through intelligence led policing and community education. The hope will be that the National Proxy Purchase campaign will go ahead and information in relation to the campaign will be made available to the Board when available. We will support the Licensed Trade in their efforts to prevent and deter violence in premises. This will continue to be carried out by tasking visits to premises where
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OFFICIAL Page | 6 OFFICIAL 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. The Licensing department will continue to work with licensees and attend Pubwatch meetings when requested. Conclusion To conclude we would like to thank you for your continued support and stress the importance of this collaborative problem solving approach. This ensures that police, license holders and licensed premises staff have a better understanding of their responsibilities. We look forward to furthering this partnership over the coming year.