Entertainment & liquor licensing

News: Drunkenness – A Timely Reminder!

  • Date: 30/11/2007
  • Author/Solicitor: Graeme Cushion

There has been much publicity surrounding the Home Office's Anti Drunkenness Campaign running in November and right through until Christmas. The assessment period comes to an end today which means that the Police will have done their homework and targeted those premises which they believe to have a problem with serving alcohol to people who have already consumed too much. The operational period now begins and runs right up until the 23rd December. This means that undercover officers may well be deployed within your premises to look for examples of people who are already drunk being served at your bar.

It is an offence under the Licensing Act 2003 to serve alcohol to someone who is already drunk. It is also an offence to obtain alcohol for a person who is drunk. The first offence is committed by individual members of bar staff and possibly a Personal Licence holder or the DPS. The second offence is committed by customers who purchase alcohol on behalf of friends who are drunk.

Should the undercover officers witness offences taking place within your premises then they will undoubtedly contact Police Officers in uniform who will be part of the operation and will then attend your premises to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice to the person who has sold the alcohol. More serious offences or those committed by a Personal Licence holder or a DPS may well result in prosecution rather than the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice. Equally, there is no power to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice to the customer who has purchased on behalf of someone else who is drunk. That may be the subject of prosecution proceedings. It is worthy of note that the seller cannot be held responsible where they have sold alcohol to someone who is not drunk, even if that person subsequently delivers the alcohol to someone who is. That said, the Police might well take the view that it should have been plainly apparent to those operating the premises that there was group within the premises who were drunk and that they should therefore be on their guard against any attempt by a relatively sober person to purchase alcohol on their behalf. Even if the evidence did not prove sufficient to lead to a prosecution there is always the possibility of a review of the licence. That is equally true in any of the circumstances mentioned, above and beyond the threat of a Fixed Penalty Notice or prosecution.

Operators therefore need to be on their toes during this period. The run up to Christmas is a time when you may well be inundated by office Christmas parties and people may well be seeking to consume more alcohol than they would at virtually any other time of the year. It is imperative that your staff are properly trained to recognise the signs of drunkenness and to have the confidence to challenge someone who they feel has had one too many.

Once again a worrying time for the trade….

For further information please contact Graeme Cushion