POLICE Scotland should review its approach to premises visits, according to the former head of the force’s national licensing policy unit.
Speaking at the SLLP Essential Licensing Update conference in Glasgow last week, chief inspector Alan Morris, who headed the licensing unit until this month and now works in the criminal justice division, said he was aware of problems with the current system.
“We’ve heard some of the horror stories,” he said. “It’s not acceptable.
“We actually find that these inspections rarely provide police licensing personnel with much to work with. So I think that’s something we have to reflect on.
“There’s a lot of work to be done there and we need to maybe look at a fresh approach to how we do this.
“What we do know is it causes maximum disruption to the traders at key times for their business. I take that on board.”
However, he defended police interventions – where police raise issues with licensees after an incident – claiming they have reduced the number of premises licence reviews requested by police.
Other speakers included Glasgow licensing board clerk Mairi Millar and Archie Maciver of law firm Brunton Miller.
