New booze law opens door to criminal landlords, warn police

Published on Tuesday 8 January 2008 09:21

NEW licensing rules will make it easier for criminals to run pubs, clubs and off-licences, police chiefs have warned.

New regulations on who can be granted a licence to sell alcohol sets out a list of "relevant" offences to be taken into consideration by licensing boards.

But those offences not on the list, along with police intelligence on individuals, will no longer be a basis for refusing a licence.

Lothian and Borders assistant chief constable Ian Dickinson said he had "serious reservations" about the new rules and branded the list of offences "both limited and restrictive". Writing to the Scottish Government on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), he said if a person was charged, for example, with supplying cocaine but was subsequently convicted of the lesser offence of possession following a system of plea-bargaining, that conviction would not be considered "relevant".

Mr Dickinson argued it should be left to chief constables to judge whether a specific conviction was relevant to a licence application. And he said he hoped a way could be found to reinstate the current "fit and proper person" test, which allows police to object to a licence based on intelligence, even if the applicant has no convictions.

His comments come in responses, just published, to the Scottish Government consultation on the licensing regulations.

Under the new system, when an applicant applies for either a premises or personal licence, the licensing board will inform the police, who will in turn inform the board if they are aware of that individual having any relevant offences.

In its response, the Law Society of Scotland questioned why only convictions could be considered when more use was now being made of fixed penalty notices and fiscal fines. It called for clarification of whether old or "spent" convictions would be considered.

Alcohol Focus Scotland backed the government's list of relevant offences, but said it should also include convictions for money laundering and someone being declared an unfit person to be a director of a company under the Companies Act legislation.

The Scottish Grocers' Federation, which includes off-licences among its members, said the list of relevant offences was "comprehensive and reasonable".

A Scottish Government spokesman said Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill had had talks with Acpos about its concerns.

He said: "We are aware of the association's views on this matter, which they have discussed with the Justice Secretary. He is happy to consider any ideas from police and licensing boards to make the system more effective."