Pubwatches have been ad-vised to consider taking out indemnity insurance to protect themselves against being sued.
This follows recent cases in which pubwatches have been forced to pay legal fees after people on the banned list threatened court action.
National Pubwatch's honorary secretary, Malcolm Eidmans, told the National Pubwatch Conference in Coventry that taking out indemnity insurance, which can cost about £295 for one group, is worth considering.
Delegates heard that one pubwatch group faces a bill of £23,000 after civil action was taken against them for defamation of character by someone who was banned.
In another publicised case in Ruddington, Notting-hamshire, a man brought in pressure group Liberty to help him fight his pubwatch ban, claiming it breached his human rights.
Joe Curran, secretary of Liverpool city centre Pubwatch, told the conference that his group had been sent two letters threatening court action from individuals who had been banned.
Cheshire police inspector and National Pubwatch committee member Nigel Bailey said: "The alarm bells are ringing. People are more aware of what's happening out there now, and are going to get taken to court."
Eidmans pointed out that people should not be able to use the Human Rights Act to argue against pubwatch bans, because the Act only applies to public bodies such as police and local authorities. Pubwatches do not fit in this category, as long as they are not run by police or council officers.
At the conference, Ian Seville, licensing officer in Halton, Cheshire, called for more pubwatch groups to adopt the Pubwatch Online system. This lets licensees and police share information about troublemakers who have been barred, via a secure website.
See www.pubwatchonline.co.uk or call 01928 238032.
no to compulsory pubwatches
Trade experts argued against making membership of a pubwatch compulsory.
This is despite the fact that membership of a pubwatch is
a condition of a licence in several regions, the conference was told.
Licensing solicitor Suzanna Poppleston said: "I think making it a condition is difficult. If you're going to drag someone along, how much are they going to contribute?"
Geoff Makin, environmental health manager at Coventry city council, agreed: "People who do not volunteer to join a pubwatch are probably not going to contribute much to it."
Other speakers said that making it compulsory would
be problematic because pubs
would automatically breach a licence condition if the pubwatch group folded.