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Summary Reviews 'Serious Crime and Disorder'

We recently reported on the statistics for Premises Licence Review applications and their outcomes.  One matter of particular interest which we did not cover in that piece is the significant rise in Summary Review applications. 

The power allows the Police, and only the Police, to instigate proceedings against premises on little or no notice.  Within 48hrs of commencing the proceedings the Licensing Committee must consider taking interim steps in respect of the premises which could extend to suspension of the licence until a full Review can take place (within 28 days).  Any steps taken have immediate effect.

The attendance of the Licence Holder is not required at this first hearing; although our experience is that Local Authorities will accommodate the Licence Holder if at all possible (subject to the 48hr time limit).

By their very nature of these proceedings they are immediate and often arise in the wake of a particular event which is the catalyst for the application. 

It is imperative that this power is not abused and that Licensing Authorities are not manipulated into making decisions which can devastate businesses without good reason and without all reliable evidence being disclosed. 

One vital requirement (often neglected) is that an application can only be sought if a senior member of the Police Force certifies that the premises are associated with:

“…serious crime or serious disorder or both;”

This is not a subjective term but is defined in the statute as:

“in the case of serious crime: that the offence or one of the offences that is or would be constituted by the conduct is an offence which a person who  has attained the age of eighteen .. and has no previous convictions could reasonable be expected to be sentence to imprisonment for a term of three years or more; that the conduct involved the use of violence, results in substantial financial gain or is conduct by a large number of person in pursuit of a common purpose”

We have appeared recently in a case where we did not feel this threshold was reached.  It was clear from comments at the hearing that the Local Authority shared our scepticism. Always something worth checking.