Police urge pub closure power

New powers are needed to close disorderly pubs, bars and clubs for up to a week or even permanently, police chiefs have told MPs.

Association of Chief Police Officers president Chris Fox said the current 24-hour closure power did not have enough impact on bad landlords. Mr Fox's comments follow the controversy over plans to allow pubs to open around the clock. He rejected critics' calls for the law change to be delayed. Instead, the new Licensing Act could help reduce drunken disorder - but only if it was properly planned, he argued.

Acpo made its call for stronger closure powers in a paper for the Commons home affairs select committee. After the meeting, Mr Fox said being able to close premises for only 24 hours did not necessarily make an impact. "If it's 12.30 on a Saturday morning and you close for 24 hours there's not a lot of pain for the premises because they probably wouldn't open on Sunday anyway.

"This is about getting through to the management that they can't run a disorderly house without facing some immediate sanctions." Under Acpo's proposal, the closure orders would be used only with the agreement of the local licensing authority. The new licensing laws will give police greater powers to close pubs and clubs - but only for 24-hour periods.

Mr Fox said the drinks industry was currently not regulating itself. "It's making money at the cost of human misery and the public purse, and the strategic planning process has been less than useless," he said. Mr Fox said the new laws, due to start being phased in next month, could help if food outlets, public transport and public toilets could cope with late-night drinkers. "Staggering it (closing hours) will be a solution if the infrastructure is there, if the premises are properly managed and people aren't being served rolling drunk and underage and then tossed out into the street," he said. "We have the problem from 11pm to 2am in any event. We have to get a grip on the underlying causes of this."

Acpo wants pubs and clubs which cause extra work for police and hospitals to have to pay towards the costs. Home Secretary Charles Clarke is currently looking at the idea of a levy on the drinks industry to pay for the cost of extra policing. The licensing changes have sparked concern among some MPs, councils and some senior police officers who fear they could exacerbate drinking problems. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell on Tuesday said it was not her job to bow to the campaign against the changes. It was the status quo, not the new laws, which were causing current binge drinking problems, she told BBC Two's Newsnight. Leaked documents have suggested ex-Home Secretary David Blunkett branded new opening hours as a "leap in the dark". But Ms Jowell insisted his concerns had been met. The police's job against alcohol-related crime would be made easier if all pubs did not close at the same time, she added.
