Trade groups have condemned the use of a "traffic lights" penalty-points system introduced by police to control unruly premises.
Hosts risk licence reviews or even revocation proceedings if they clock up enough points to put them in the red-alert category.
Police in three areas of Northamptonshire have adopted their own version of a Government red and yellow warning-card scheme first sanctioned by the Department for Culture Media & Sport and the Home Office last autumn.
And it is feared forces in other parts of the country are also looking at similar ways to bring problem pubs to book.
But critics say the "totting up" system is unfair and may discourage hosts from ringing the police if it means points are awarded against them.
Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations chief executive Tony Payne claimed it could "destroy the relationship" between licensees and the police.
And Paul Smith, executive director of Noctis, warned hosts could be penalised for incidents unconnected to their premises. "Licensees should not necessarily be held to account for trouble that breaks out on the streets outside a venue," he said.
Pubs and clubs in Daventry and south Northants remaining on red alert for two successive three-month periods could face revocation proceedings in the worst cases, say police.
Hosts will run up points each time police are called to an incident, with offences calculated on a one to five chart according to severity.
Quarterly points awarded against each premises will then be totalled up and placed in a green, amber or red category.
British Beer & Pub Association director Martin Rawlings said licensees ran the risk of taking the rap for problems over which they had no control.
"You cannot always blame a pub for problems, especially if it is customers that are really to blame.
"The Government guidance on red and yellow
warning cards is somewhat different to the scheme Northamptonshire appears to be pursuing, but our view is the police already have adequate powers under the Licensing Act to sort out problem pubs."
MA legal editor Peter Coulson added: "Licensees fear that if they call out police to an incident, even a relatively minor one, it may be recorded against them.
"Like any totting up system it can be unfair and a bit crude in its operation."