700 crimes reported near licensed premises in Warrington town centre (From This Is Cheshire)

700 crimes reported near licensed premises in Warrington town centre

11:33am Wednesday 10th March 2010

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MORE than 700 crimes were reported to have taken place within or near to licensed premises in the town during 2009.

Twenty-one per cent of the crimes were said to have taken place at or around Halo night club, on Bridge Foot. Sixty-two violent offences and 42 drug offences were recorded.

But Sgt Neil Drum, from Warrington Town Centre NPU, said the figures revealed following an FOI request into the crimes committed at licensed venues in the town centre, needed to be treated with caution.

He said people often give police the name of the nearest focal point when reporting a crime so the place can be pinpointed..

He said a number of the drug offences listed at Halo can be attributed to people caught committing crimes on the town centre CCTV.

He said: “Many arrests have taken place near to the river by Halo as people think they are in a secluded spot and take drugs but they are picked up because of the excellent CCTV.

“That is a positive action and is down to the lack of awareness that people can be seen.

“Door staff at Halo are very good at doing their checks to prevent crime and disorder and doing their best to minimise drug use in their venue.”

Sgt Drum said that just last weekend 19 ‘direction to leave‘ notices were issued to people who were likely to cause crime or disorder. If the offender refuses to leave the town when asked they risk being arrested.

Sgt Drum said on an evening punters can expect to see a high police presence, which is there to provide public reassurance.

He said: “We are working to make the town a safer place.

“We feel we are doing the best we can and we want to continue to deliver that service. It is challenging and there will be incidents of violence and disorder but we want to keep them to a minimum.”

Operation Irvine, a five week plan, has been implemented to tackle violent disorder and public order offences in Warrington.

Each licensed premises is given a designated officer to work with and if the licence regulations are breached the police and Warrington Borough Council can review or even revoke the licence.

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