18.11.2019

Liaison and networking

Liaison between police and venues

The importance of liaison between police and venues cannot be over-stated. Many of the difficulties involved in running a venue or event that is profitable, safe and legal can be overcome by good working relationships between local officers and owners, managers and promoters. There should be an agreement about the way in which incidents relating to drug use or dealing should be handled.

Clarification of expectations

The police should clarify in which circumstances they wish to be called and what they expect of door supervisors. Police officers may not always be able to respond promptly, especially on weekend evenings and any agreement should cover what should happen when police cannot attend.

The procedures for seizing and keeping secure suspected controlled drugs should also be formally agreed. In some areas, it is regarded as good practice for police officers to come to the club to collect seized substances on a regular basis. This visit also allows the opportunity to exchange information and concerns.

Many license holders worry about handing over drugs to the police, fearing that if they are regularly seizing drugs, they may be considered to have a serious drug problem and their licence could be at risk.

Conversely, police officers often target venues who never seize drugs, feeling that they may be condoning drug use or dealing. These, normally unspoken, fears can evaporate within a good working relationship which involves frequent personal contact. Police services appreciate the difficulties in preventing drug dealing in a club setting and would rather work with licensees to tackle an identified problem than seek to close a venue down, which, in any case, may only displace any drug dealing taking place.

Liaison between venues

Liaison between venues – especially those who provide similar events and are competitors – and police is particularly valuable. Banning a suspected drug dealer from one club may result in him or her trying to sell drugs in another. If a group of clubs in a city centre are successful in reducing the amount of dealing inside their premises, it may be that drugs are being sold more frequently in local ‘feeder’ pubs or bars where customers meet before going clubbing.

The police, in collaboration with the local Community Safety Partnership, should seek to institute regular fora for exchanging information, on a formal or informal basis. Local Pubwatch schemes are often good networks for exchanging this sort of information as is the SaferSounds Partnership in London.

If you would like to know more about the work of security staff and door supervisors in relation to drugs, you can see the main roles and responsibilities here.