BEDA chief in call for even-handed policing

A trade leader is asking the Home Office to step in over inconsistent and unfair policing around the country.

Some police forces have adopted the approach of penalising venues that report incidents to them, according to Bar, Entertainment & Dance Association (BEDA) chief executive Jon Collins.

Collins has asked Home Office Minister Hazel Blears MP to consult on a standard approach by police to so-called 'Top Ten' schemes.

Collins said: 'Top Ten schemes are collated numbers of incidents at venues in an area, used to allocate police resources. They vary dramatically across the country. ​

'Some forces take no account of the number of people passing through a venue during an evening while others give all incidents equal weight, meaning no differentiation between an assault or a mobile phone theft.

'It is now increasingly common for operators to engage in good practice and report incidents such as drugs seizures to the police, only to have this held against the venue at a later date.'

Collins hopes to set up a meeting with the Home Office early this year to discuss his concerns. He said: 'Government needs to send out a clear message that dialogue, partnership and self-reporting should be viewed as best practice. ​

'There is a real danger that existing partnership work will be undermined and we will return to the days when operators simply did not communi- cate with the police.'

He favours the Greater Man-chester Police City Safe initia- tive as a sound framework for national criteria.

'Its initiative is operated in a spirit of partnership, using a points system to distinguish between minor and major incidents and rewards self-reporting of incidents by operators,'​ he added.