Pubs in Bedford join forces for anti-knife campaign

Their slogan, ‘Our customers keep their knives in the kitchen’, will be displayed on beer mats and posters in venues.

Security staff at the venues will also search all customers with a hand-held metal detector during peak periods. The licensees hope the initiative will demonstrate how rare it is for people to bring weapons into the town-centre, and reinforce Bedford’s reputation as a safe place to spend a weekend evening.

The searches are being supported by the wider BedSafe partners and the local Community Safety Partnership which has funded the beer mats and posters.

Bedfordshire Police will also tackle people who avoid entering venues when they see the searches taking place.

Chair of the town’s BedSafe licensees forum Paul Dawson said: “This campaign is all about protecting the town’s reputation as somewhere that people can come to at night and feel safe – as local businesses it’s so important to us that the town retains a good reputation.

“We don’t want anyone to feel reluctant about coming into the town centre to enjoy themselves over the festive period. Bedford is a great town and projects like the Nite Net radio system, Taxi Marshals and Street Angels already go a long way towards keeping the public safe while they’re on a night out in the town. It’s important that as businesses we work together to show just how important our customers’ safety is to us.

”Figures show that in the 12 months to August 2011 just three people were recorded by the police as having an article with a blade or a point in the vicinity of the town centre’s pubs and clubs. It might seem a low number to some, given the high volume of people who have enjoyed a safe night out in the town during that 12-month period, but in our eyes that’s still three too many.”