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Town centre louts face year-long ban

Ben Turner
9/ 7/2004

TROUBLE-making drinkers face a year-long ban from all town centre pubs and clubs without even being arrested.

Under new fast-track measures, they can be barred from drinking in all licensed premises except restaurants, from the top of Drake Street to the top of Yorkshire Street, after just one offence - with only minimum police involvement.

Any public disorder offence causing harassment, alarm or distress, ranging from lewd behaviour and intimidation to assaults, will mean a 365-day ban from all 27 town centre pubs and clubs under a new Acceptable Behaviour Scheme launched this month.

Arrested troublemakers will receive an immediate interim ban. This will then be increased to 12 months if approved by a five-member panel involving police, council, town centre management and Rochdale's Pub and Clubwatch scheme.

But licencees signed up to the scheme can also, in effect, police themselves by 'naming' any troublemaker on the back of a single incident spotted by bar staff. No official police action is required.

Organisers hope to sign-up off-licences, restaurants, taxis and buses to the scheme in the near future.

Inspector Meriel Buglass said ABS would help 'isolate' a minority of troublecausers.

"The beauty of it is that people can be banned without going through the courts - the decision can be made without them," she said. "If everyone is involved it is going to succeed. It is bad news for troublemakers and great news for everyone else."

She said the scheme could expand to a further clampdown on the 'little bubbles' of trouble that can occur as people leave pubs at the end of the night.

"We are looking to soon extend it to off-licences and restaurants. In Burnley, where a similar scheme has been a success, they have also included taxis and buses."

Those who breached their ban could face anti-social behaviour orders, she added.

Debbie O'Brien, the town centre manager, said: "It has been tried in Manchester and elsewhere and trouble makers from other towns might choose to come here to drink if we haven't got a scheme like this in place. It is a fantastic opportunity. We want to ensure visitors can have a good, safe night here."

A spokesman for Pub and Clubwatch said: "Figures already show a downward trend in trouble in the town centre and this is another action to further address the minority of incidents. We are hoping that the scheme will only have to deal with a handful of people. There will not be dozens of new troublemakers each week."

Posters will promote the crackdown in all pubs and clubs involved.