Community / Reintroduction of pubwatch scheme still under consideration
WORK is ongoing to re-establish a ‘pubwatch’ scheme in Shetland.
These schemes see businesses and organisations working together to address violence and disorder in licensed premises.
An example of this is someone being jointly banned by licence holders in an area.
A police report to members of Shetland’s licensing board said that a pubwatch ban for a patron can be “more of a deterrent than sanctions issues via the criminal justice system”.
This then could see a reduction in the number of violent incidents in licensed premises.
But the report said pubwatch schemes have been affected by the introduction of data protection legislation, regarding the sharing of personal details and photographs.
Despite this “Shetland officers remain fully committed to continue working alongside pubwatches in a supportive capacity and will continue to assist wherever possible”.
The report, which covered licensing for 2021/22, reiterated that officers in Shetland continue to recognise that alcohol can be a significant factor in violent crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour.
It added that police officers are “extremely proactive” in relation to entering and inspecting licensed premises.
The report said that only one premises in Shetland was ‘monitored’ during the financial year.
This is when problems persist or a pattern of incidents are identified, and officers undertake a specific number of inspections a week.
But no premises in Shetland were taken to the next stage, in which an action plan would need to be drawn up.
The report added that a total of 1,420 recorded premises inspections were carried out by police officers in Shetland between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022.
The report also highlighted that there is no intelligence to suggest underage sales are taking place within licensed premises in Shetland.
But Sergeant Alastair Bryce told a meeting of Shetland’s licensing board on Monday that there is “no room for complacency”.
He added that young people are still obtaining and consuming alcohol.
The report also highlighted the increasing prevalence of “pre-loading”, where folk drink at home prior to going out.
Bryce told Monday’s meeting that this may often see people enter licensed premises already drunk, highlighting the importance of door stewarding.
The police officer also said that he was happy to ask those involved with providing SIA security certification, which are needed for designated door stewards, about what help may available to help the shortage of license holders in the islands.
Since the Covid pandemic Shetland has suffered from a lack of certified SIA licence holders, which has meant Mareel for instance has been unable to hold a large standing concert since spring 2020.
It was previously said the issue was a result of door supervisors’ licenses lapsing during the pandemic combined with wider hospitality staff shortages, while training programmes were also stunted by restrictions.
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