Drunk inspectors for Glasgow

Glasgow is to recruit a team of drunk inspectors to clampdown on bars serving drunks.

The move is in a similar vein to plans for a national Home Office campaign to place undercover police in pubs to catch staff serving drunks customers - which the Morning Advertiser​ exclusively revealed two weeks ago.

There is a lot of pre-loading these days and the one in the pub may be the one to push them over the limit​ Patrick Browne, Scottish Beer and Pub Association

Glasgow first mooted plans to launch an operation last year but is now actively recruiting a team of specialised licensing standards officers.

James McNally, convener of Glasgow Licensing Board, told the Glasgow Evening News​ that serving drunks was fuelling anti-social behaviour in the city centre at evenings and weekends.

He said: "This board is extremely concerned that a failure to tackle this issue will simply continue to fuel the difficulties we all experience with anti-social behaviour.​

"As a major and vibrant city, the spotlight will be firmly on Glasgow to see how we tackle these problems, particularly as we enter into a new licensing system.

"We will be taking a very firm approach to those who are brought to our attention for failing to act on this message and who continue to flout the law and responsible management practices."

However, chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association Patrick Browne told the morningadvertiser.co.uk​ that licensing standards officers were not the correct people to take such action.

"The police are there for law enforcement not the licensing standards officers,"​ he said.

"Licensing standards officers have no authority to prosecute."​

Browne added that the definition of drunk was also very subjective. "There is a lot of pre-loading these days and the one in the pub may be the one to push them over the limit.

"Every licensee knows you can't serve drunk people and most are very cautious."