Glass ban pressure is huge says Wetherspoon
Managed chain JD Wetherspoon has reported that requests from police to introduce polycarbonate glasses have been coming in "thick and fast" in the past month.
Newport, Fareham, Trowbridge, Slough, Kingston, Ilford, Daventry are among the new towns where police have been requesting plastic glasses be introduced.
Also, many Pubwatch meetings in the south-west of the country have been receiving presentations from the police on the merits of polycarbonate glass.
West Dorset District Council has also decided to "encourage" pubs to switch to plastic glasses. The increase in requests from police for plastic glasses follows a national conference held last November where police forces heard about their success in reducing problems of violence in Bournmouth.
Chris Allison, Association of Chief Police Offices lead on licensing, also threw his weight behind polycarbonates at the conference.
The conference heard from Marjorie Goulding whose son was badly injured in a glass attack in Milton Keynes.This is drifting down from police forces in an unreasoned way.John Hutson, Chief Executive - JD Wetherspoon
Chief executive of JD Wetherspoon John Hutson (pictured with a glass of beer) has argued that police requests for the blanket introduction of plastic glasses represent a bigger threat to the pub trade than the smoking ban.
He said: "Requests are coming in thick and fast on an ad hoc basis.
"With underage drinking, the major companies were called in by Government and were told what was bothering it and what the problem is.
"It was slightly bullying on the part of the Government but we could say, "We take your point and we'll do something about it".
"There has been no equivalent round-table discussion with plastic glasses.
"This is drifting down from police forces in an unreasoned way."
Melinka Berridge, senior licensing and planning solicitor at Wetherspoon, said; "This issue has been raised at just about every Pubwatch meeting in the south-west in the past month.
"The police approach has varied from suggesting a switch to polycarbonate through to a full presentation on the issue."
Another industry source has told the Morning Advertiser that he has received a letter from police in one town indicating that a licence review application could result for pubs that have not switched to plastic glasses and have glass-based violent incidents.
Case Study:Pubs in Daventry are under pressure from the police to introduce plastic glasses.
The Safer Daventry Partnership has given funding of £4,000 to provide around 4,000 polycarbonate glasses for 22 venues who are members of the Daventry Pubwatch scheme.
Daventry licensing officer PC Tam Dunn told the local newspaper: "We are trying to protect people who are drinking in places with glasses.
"We can't make a blanket request to say pubs have to have them as a condition of their licence because there is no evidence in Daventry to suggest they do need them.
"So we are trying to introduce them on a voluntary basis through Pubwatch.
"Daventry does not have that type of problem where people are being bottled or glassed. But it only takes one incident and we are trying to prevent it happening in the future. If we can prevent just one person from being injured, then it can only be a good thing."
The first pub in Daventry to accept the scheme is High Street venue Friday's which will use them on certain days of the year.
Owner Maurice Fermoy said: "We have agreed to use them on events when there is a high chance of breakages.
"For example when major football games are happening like the World Cup and Euro 2008 where people in large groups are drinking pints in close proximity to each other and significant breakage could occur."
Wetherspoon's pub in Daventry The Saracen's Head in Brook Street has already said it won't be using the polycarbonate glasses at the moment.
The Morning Advertiser has written to Chris Allison, Association of Chief Police Officers lead on licensing, expressing concern about police putting pressure on venues to ban glass.Read more here
