Police praise licensee over private drug initiative

A licensee has been praised by police after launching a zero tolerance campaign against drugs in his pub.

Chris Bailey, licensee of the Jailhouse in Goole, paid for a sniffer dog and private security firm to come into his pub and search customers.

The initiative was supported by Humberside police, who were on hand for two hours while 22 suspected drug users were searched. The raid resulted in one arrest.

Mr Bailey said he wanting to send out a positive message to the local community by showing that drugs would not be tolerated in his pub. "I wanted to send out a message to my customers who want to come in and enjoy themselves that they can be safe," he said, "and just show that we're aware of this and we want to put a stop to it. I think I speak for every licensee in the country when I say that.

"I approached the police and said I'd like their support, and they put me in touch with Dick Beeforth, our local licensing officer. He was amazed that we'd actually taken the initiative and gotten in contact with him, and he and the police were totally supportive."

PC Dick Beeforth said: "It was a good night and it sent out a good message. We applaud his actions and it shows us licensees are acting responsibly to try and stamp out drugs on their premises."

Mr Bailey said that the vast majority of customers had responded positively to the scheme, with many saying that they would like to see more pubs take the initiative.

"Rather than dig our heads in the sands and hope it goes away, I'd rather we did something proactive," he added. "I'd rather prevent something happening in the first place."