The trade is split on the potential impact of on-the-door breathalyser tests, which will give pubs in Cornwall the power to turn away drunk customers.
It is hoped the scheme, to be launched this summer, which 21 licensed venues in Newquay and Truro have signed up to, will reduce crime rates and be beneficial
for licensees.
But industry leaders fear the use of breathalysers may end up criminalising well-behaved customers and “turn pubs into fortresses”.
Nick Hayman, chairman of Newquay Pubwatch and licensee at Central Inn in the town centre, said he decided to sign up to the voluntary scheme because police informed him that a similar pilot scheme in Torquay had led to a reduction in alcohol-related crime.
“Pre-loading is a massive problem for the trade. People might think twice about what they drink before they go out,” Hayman said. He added that he hoped cust-omers would be encouraged to spend more money drinking responsibly in the town’s pubs, rather than drinking cheaper supermarket booze before going out.
Pre-loading
Explaining the scheme, Devon and Cornwall police and crime commissioner Tony Hogg said the impact of pre-loading on drinking culture and crime levels was “enormous and undeniable”.
“We need to reduce the number of people who get seriously drunk at home on cheap alcohol before they go out and then go on to cause trouble in town and city
centre establishments later,” he said.
Hayman said his pub would not breathalyse every customer. “Just when an individual is clearly excessively drunk, aggressive or disorderly,” Hayman explained. “They’re not going to get in anyway. It gives door staff a tool. They can say ‘this is how much you’ve had to drink, come back tomorrow’.”
Newquay Police inspector Dave Meredith said though licensees have the option to set their own limit of acceptable blood alcohol percentage, they had been advised that twice the drink drive limit (70 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath) was a “reasonable benchmark”.
JDW
However, two Wetherspoon’s pubs in Newquay won’t use breathalysers, following advice by the pubco’s legal department.
Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers chief executive Kate Nicholls said she feared the scheme could have “unintended negative consequences”, with problems being moved to queues, and becoming more difficult to manage.
“We are at risk of criminalising all of our customers, many of whom will be deterred from visiting our venues, and the majority of whom are perfectly sensible,” she said.
Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, added that breathalysers could be an imposition on well-run premises, which have existing procedures to deal with these challenges.
She added that any condition on a licence to enforce the use of breathalysers would be “completely unacceptable”. She said: “Used improperly, such measures risk turning pubs into fortresses and just encourage customers to drink at home.”