National Pubwatch praised on its 20th anniversary

By Fred A'Court

- Last updated on GMT

Milestone reached: Pubwatch is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year
Milestone reached: Pubwatch is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year

Related tags Local pubwatch schemes Constable

The National Pubwatch (NPW) has been praised, as it celebrates its 20th anniversary, for the work it is doing in helping achieve a safe and secure environment in all UK licensed premises. 

The organisation, set up by two publicans and a former police chief in 1997, supports about 650 local Pubwatch schemes that promote initiatives to reduce alcohol-related crime.

Writing in a specially commissioned 20th anniversary magazine, NPW chairman Steve Baker said: "At last year's Diageo National Pubwatch Awards, our finalists were drawn from as far afield as the Orkney Islands in the north of Scotland, Rochdale in the north of England and Penzance in the far south-west.

"If you think about it that says a great deal about the spread of Pubwatch but also how flexible it can be to adapt and flourish in such different communities.

"Our aim has always been the same; to create safer drinking environments through the promotion and support of local Pubwatch partnerships.

"For the past two decades we have been working closely with local schemes, the police, Government and Home Office to ensure that Pubwatch continues to be the first choice for anyone wanting to introduce a tried and tested good practice scheme in their town or neighbourhood."

The importance of its work has been recognised by pub companies, trade associations, the police, Government ministers and MPs.

Crucial element

Former pubs minister Andrew Percy said that NPW has been a crucial element in the partnership between landlords, police and local councils to promote safe and responsible drinking.

Assistant chief constable Rachel Kearton, the alcohol lead for the National Police Chiefs' Council, said it plays a key role in promoting good practice and that local Pubwatch schemes can make a real difference to improving the safety of people working and socialising in town and city centres.

It has had an enormous impact, the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) Graham Evans MP said, while his parliamentary colleague and former APPBG chairman Andrew Griffiths MP added that NPW has played an important part in helping to reduce alcohol-related crime, and to giving people confidence in the night-time economy.

Among the achievements claimed by NPW over the past 20 years has been publication of the first Good Practice Guide​, recognition from the Sentencing Council that assaults on bar staff are aggravating features meriting severer punishment, the creation of a national database of Pubwatch schemes, and acknowledgement of them as the best practice schemes in relation to the late-night levies.

In addition, it says it has encouraged and supported several pub companies to adopt positive policies towards Pubwatch and it has opened links with industry bodies and the Home Office to ensure it is regularly consulted on new legislation.

Trade body, the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, said that one of the things it continues to push for is a move away from knee-jerk legislation to an emphasis on voluntary and partnership schemes.

“National Pubwatch is a great example of harmonious working and promotion of best practice between businesses,” said chief executive Kate Nicholls.

Providing support and guidance

Some JD Wetherspoon pub managers have set up schemes in their area, said chairman Tim Martin, one of a number of pub executives who spoke of the value that Pubwatch initiatives have brought.

NPW is crucial in providing support and guidance to local pubwatch schemes, according to the managing director of the Mercury Pubs division at Punch, Paul Pavli.

"By working together and forming effective partnerships with local authorities and police forces, such schemes show the very best of what the industry has to offer communities," he said.

Stonegate Pub Company chairman Ian Payne said, since 1997, the industry has changed significantly and the trailblazing partnership approach developed by NPW has led the way in developing effective local partnerships between the police and the industry.

He added that Stonegate is proud that three quarters of it estate is involved with programmes such as Pubwatch.

Researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University who, in 2013, asked almost 1,200 licensees, councillors and police representatives to assess the effectiveness and strengths of NPW and local schemes found that:

  • 94% said it was important that NPW offers advice and support to new schemes, while an equal percentage said it was important to provide ongoing support
  • 91% said the role of Pubwatch was to create a safer drinking environment
  • 89% said its role was to help reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder
  • 89% agreed that they would remain a member of their local scheme
  • 70% of licensees said they believed their local Pubwatch was successful in meeting its objectives

Three men, two publicans and a former police chief, were the driving force behind the creation of NPW in 1997. They were the late Raoul De Vaux, licensee and magistrate often known as the ‘politicians’ publican’ during his stint at the Red Lion in Westminster, London, the late Malcolm Eidmans, a former police chief superintendent, and licensee Bill Stone. 

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