No rise in crime from Licensing Act, says top cop

The Licensing Act has brought "no major spike in crime" and police have "significant powers" to deal with problems, a senior officer told MPs yesterday.

Commander Simon O'Brien, of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), told a parliamentary committee looking at the effects of the Act: "The effect generally (of the Act) has been pretty neutral.

"We have seen some rise in disorder at certain hours of the evening, but there hasn't been any major spike in crime that we could directly associate with the difference in times that premises are staying open to."

Prior to the Act some media and commentators predicted it would bring widespread Armageddon to Britain's streets.

Commander O'Brien added that the Act had given police "significant powers" and argued there was no need for further legislation to tackle the problems.

Instead he argued that it should be about "culture change".

Earlier, Chris White, chairman of the Local Government Association Culture Sport and Tourism Board echoed this view, saying: "The Act's been largely neutral with some positive elements, the word dramatic would not apply."

However Simon Reed, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, said police resources were sometimes stretched in small towns. "My knowledge of some small market towns are that sometimes they are the Wild West on occasions because they really are stripped of resources," he said.

Reed also said the nature of licensed premises had changed in some areas. "What we have seen is the growth of far larger pubs and there is an issue about how we deal with those," he said.

Later Chief Inspector Adrian Studd of ACPO ruled out the need to increase the minimum age in the on-trade, pointing out that Challenge 21 was proving to be an effective scheme.

The Commons Culture Committee inquiry into the Licensing Act was launched in July and is looking at all areas of the legislation and its effects.