Scots licensing reform under attack from police chief
Plans to reform Scottish licensing laws have come under fire from a senior police officer.
Malcolm Dickson, the deputy chief constable of the Lothian and Borders force - which covers Edinburgh and the surrounding region - claimed that the reforms would only be feasible if there was a huge investment in additional policing.
The Scottish Executive is proposing to relax opening hours, similar to the incoming legislation in England and Wales, but also introduce stricter control on happy hours and drinks promotions.
The legislation is expected to come in by 2010.
Writing in The Scotsman, Mr Dickson warned that levels of drunken violence had now risen to an extent where the majority are being denied the level of policing they should have because of the unruly minority.
He added: "I dread to think what will happen if the changes to licensing provisions currently being considered by Parliament result in longer licensing hours and more public provision of alcohol.
"That would surely only be feasible if accompanied by a huge investment in an infrastructure to keep the lid on violence."
Mr Dickson's concerns are prompted by what he sees as an increase in alcohol-related crime among the young.
"It frustrates me enormously that I have to focus the majority of available police hours on drunken young people who spill out of bigger and bigger pubs at all hours of the night and use the streets as playgrounds of violence," he wrote.
But the Scottish Beer & Pub Association (SBPA) claimed the police chief had "blown the situation out of proportion".
SBPA chief executive Patrick Browne said: "I don't think this is a fair reflection of what's going on.
"I've no doubt there are problems but it's not right to tar all premises with the same brush."
He added that the problem of "pre-loading" - people buying booze from supermarkets and drinking it before they went out - had not been acknowledged by Mr Dickson as a contributing factor.
A bill on the change in Scottish licensing laws is expected to be announced before the end of the year, following consultation with the police and the pub trade.
