Legal checklist: Dealing with a serious incident

I make no apologies for stating the obvious — in urgent situations we all sometimes forget to do the most obvious things. I am assuming that the offender has either absconded or been safely apprehended by any doorstaff, and that immediate first aid is being administered to the victim.
■ Call 999 immediately.
■ Don’t think about any potential consequences for your pub — urgent action now may help save a life and apprehend a serious offender.
■ Secure the crime scene immediately; whatever you do don’t touch it, move anything or try to clean it up.
■ In almost all cases you should voluntarily shut the premises. However, take advice from the police because there may be witnesses who could give vital information and, ideally, you want them to remain until the police arrive.
■ Co-operate completely with the police — any delay or unwillingness to help could have serious consequences for your licence.
■ Complete your own detailed incident log/report. This can often be overlooked when your staff have spent half the night completing statements at the police station.
■ If you or your staff are invited for an interview under caution, always attend with a solicitor. 
■ As soon as possible, carry out your own investigation — interview relevant members of staff, check that the licence conditions were being complied with and that there are no serious breaches of your own in-house procedures. If there are any, rectify them immediately. 
■ Check your staff training records, and use any period of business closure as an opportunity to provide refresher training.
■ Review your door and bar policies.
■ In the following days, check the public relations position in the print and online media:  are the police saying one thing to you privately, but another thing publicly? There is often extreme pressure on police licensing officers from senior colleagues to react immediately to serious incidents with a review or summary review application to cut back your hours or even close you down. Make sure both the police and the public know the measures you are taking to address any fault that can be laid at your door.
■ Ensure your CCTV is working and the relevant footage is available to the police. They may want this footage urgently so make sure someone who knows how to operate your system is on hand.
■ Talk to a specialist licensing solicitor — yes, it will cost you, but your solicitor will be able to explain your rights to you, and perhaps come up with realistic alternative proposals to the often knee-jerk impulse to review your licence or issue you with a pub closure notice.