Prevention of crime and disorder

What this objective is really about

The prevention of crime and disorder does not mean "we promise not to do anything illegal." Everyone promises that. What the licensing authority wants to know is: what specific, practical steps have you taken so that crime is less likely to happen at your venue, and that if something does happen, you can deal with it and evidence it?

They are thinking about: fights in and around your venue, drug use on the premises, underage customers, theft, and disorder spilling onto the street when you close. Your job is to show you have thought about all of it before they have to ask.

The police are a responsible authority in the licensing process. They can make representations, request hearings, and push for conditions. Writing a vague operating schedule is an invitation for them to do exactly that. Writing a specific, credible one makes them far less likely to object at all.

CCTV: the non-negotiable

Almost every premises licence for a late-night venue will include a CCTV condition — either one you propose or one they attach. Propose it yourself, on your terms, rather than waiting for them to dictate it.

What a solid CCTV commitment looks like

• Cameras covering all entry and exit points (front door, fire exits, back doors)
• Cameras covering the bar, till areas, and any outside smoking area
• Footage retained for a minimum of 31 days (some authorities specify 28; 31 is a safer standard)
• System in working order at all times the venue is open for licensable activities
• Footage provided to the police or the licensing authority on request, within a reasonable timeframe (say 24 hours)
• A named member of staff who knows how to retrieve and export footage

Broken CCTV is a licensing issue, not just an unfortunate inconvenience. If the system fails, the condition typically requires you to either repair it within 48 hours or notify the police. Include that in your operating schedule. It shows you understand the obligation.

Door supervision

If you are running a late-night bar, club, or any venue where things could get lively, door supervision is almost certainly going to come up — either as something you propose or something the police will ask for.

SIA licensing

All door supervisors operating at a licensed premises must hold a valid SIA Door Supervisor licence. This is not optional and not something you can fudge. Your operating schedule should confirm that all door staff will hold a current SIA licence and that you will maintain records of their licence numbers.

Numbers and triggers

Rather than committing to a fixed number of door staff at all times (which may be commercially impractical on a quiet Tuesday), you can set out a risk-based model: for example, one SIA door supervisor on the door from 10pm, with additional staff deployed when capacity exceeds a certain threshold, when ticketed events are running, or when the police specifically request it. Be specific. "Appropriate numbers will be deployed" is not specific.

What to include in the schedule

• The times during which door supervision will be in place
• The basis on which additional staff will be deployed
• Confirmation that all door staff hold current SIA licences
• A search policy (if you intend to search customers — you should)
• A no-readmission policy (once someone is refused entry or ejected, they don't come back in that night)

The incident log

An incident log is a record of everything that goes wrong: refusals of entry, ejections, fights, drug finds, theft, accidents, or anything else significant. You are legally required to maintain one if it is a condition of your licence — and it almost always is. More importantly, it protects you.

If the police later claim your venue has a pattern of disorder and you have no records, you have nothing to push back with. If you have a meticulous log showing a quiet venue with occasional, well-handled incidents, that is evidence in your favour.

The log should record: the date and time, the nature of the incident, the action taken, and who dealt with it. A dedicated book at the venue works. A digital system (some door supervision apps include one) is better. What matters is that it actually gets filled in, consistently, every time something happens.

Working with the police

The police licensing team and the police SNT (Safer Neighbourhood Team) for your area are different people with different roles. Both matter. Before you submit your application, it is worth making contact — not to lobby them, but to demonstrate that you are the kind of operator who communicates proactively rather than one who causes them work.

If the police make a representation against your application, you will be going to a hearing. If they don't, the licence is very likely to be granted on the papers. That calculation should shape how seriously you engage with them during the process.

In your operating schedule, include the name of the police licensing unit for your area and state that you will maintain an ongoing relationship with them, share relevant intelligence, and contact them promptly if a serious incident occurs.

Pubwatch and radio links

Pubwatch is a national scheme where local licensed premises share intelligence about banned individuals and problem behaviour. Membership varies by area — in some towns it is active and well-run, in others it barely exists. Either way, committing to join (if active in your area) or to work with local venues on a radio link scheme is a positive signal in an application.

A radio link scheme is exactly what it sounds like: venues nearby can communicate in real time when someone is ejected, so the person cannot just walk 50 metres down the road. This is particularly useful in a busy night-time economy area.

Even if you end up not joining, committing to it in the application costs you nothing and reads well. If Pubwatch is not active in your area, say so and explain what alternative intelligence-sharing arrangements you will put in place with neighbouring venues.

Drugs policy

Venues get caught out on drugs more often than on anything else. Not because they are drug dens, but because they don't have a clear, written policy that staff actually follow. The licensing authority wants to see:

• A written drugs policy that all staff are trained on
• A procedure for what happens when someone is found with drugs (remove them from the venue, record it in the incident log, and if it's a significant find, call the police)
• Drug amnesty bins (locked receptacles at the entrance where people can dispose of anything before coming in) — not all venues use these, but for clubs they are worth considering
• A search policy if you carry out searches on entry
• Regular toilet checks, particularly in cubicles, with a record of when checks were done

Putting it in your operating schedule

Your operating schedule needs to address this objective directly. Don't bury the detail in vague commitments. For each measure, be specific: who does what, when, and how it gets recorded. The licensing authority has seen thousands of applications that say "all reasonable steps will be taken." Yours should say exactly which steps.

If you are not sure what level of detail is right for your venue and your local licensing authority, our operating schedule template walks through each objective section by section. It's free, and it's written from experience of real applications.