Police issue closure threat to pubs over toughened glass
Scotland's largest police force is warning licensees they could face a premises licence review, leading to possible closure, if they don't come up to scratch on toughened glassware.
The latest move from the force - which covers a huge swathe of Scotland - follows figures showing there were 52 glassing assaults in the area over the past year.
The letter being sent to licensees says that if a glassing assault happens in, or even near, a pub which hasn't made an effort to ditch normal glasses for toughened one, police will seek a review. The ultimate punishment could be a premises being shut down.
However, police accept that not every form of glass is available in toughened versions, and say they are concentrating on pint and half pint tumblers.
Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer & Pub Association told The Publican: "The idea of having mandatory toughened glass is wrong, and there are all sorts of problems with plastic tumblers. It's really a disproportionate stance to adopt relative to the number of incidents.
"But licensees should react to this letter by carrying out a risk assessment. If they show due diligence in terms of public safety they'll have done what's required."
Inspector Tim Morris of Strathclyde licensing division said: "We'd look very carefully at the circumstances behind an assault in the case of a pub which had made no effort."
Alistair Don, whose Glasgow pub The Doublet was used to launch an earlier phase of the police initiative, said: "Some glasses just can't be changed - I use Budvar glasses, for example, and it isn't reasonable to expect manufacturers to create toughened glasses, just for the Scottish market.
"I agree with Patrick Browne on showing due diligence. Most pint glasses are already toughened, and it's a case of ensuring good staff practice to deal with every aspect of your bar management."
