Licensing SAVI as part of a Safer Streets Fund bid

The Government have announced the fourth round of the crime-busting Safer Streets Fund initiative, with the bidding window currently open until Friday 13th May.

The primary focuses remain neighbourhood crime (burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and theft), anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls in public places (e.g. street harassment, rape, sexual assault, stalking), as well as feelings of safety in the public domain, and the night-time economy.

Example areas in scope include residential streets; high streets; city centres; college & university campuses (but not inside the buildings); the night-time economy (inside and outside establishments) and rural locations.

The inclusion of the night-time economy criteria is the first time that the inside of an establishment is considered as being in scope for fund bids and that’s why the Licensing Security & Vulnerability Initiative, or Licensing SAVI as it’s commonly referred to, is worth considering as part of a bid.

Police CPI’s Licensing SAVI, seeks to improve safety and security in licensed premises and, with the recent national publicity around the safety of women and girls, coupled with the recent spate of reports about drink spiking and injection incidents, the focus for venues to provide a safe and secure environment has never been more important.

A recent YouGov survey revealed that;

- Three out of four adults are calling for improved safety procedures in bars, pubs and nightclubs

- across all licensed premises, the support for improved safety in venues is greatest amongst women. In nightclubs, 83% of women want improved safety, in bars and pubs 81% of women want safety improvements and in restaurants, 64% of women want safety improvements

- a police safety award may benefit all the different types of licensed premises to some extent, with 25% of adults reporting being more likely to visit bars and pubs that had received the award

There is a tremendous consistency in these results which show how important safety has become today for men and women – but particularly women.

There is growing evidence that the best way to keep bars, pubs and clubs safe for staff and customers is to bring together key organisations such as licensees, venue managers, the police and local authorities in a way that they can share their expertise.

Evidence also shows that effective delivery of multi-component programmes in drinking environments can reduce alcohol-related harm and consequently costs to health services, criminal justice agencies and a range of other public services.

Developed at the request of the Home Office, Licensing SAVI supports the alcohol drinks industry and is backed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, along with Project Servator, which seeks to deter terrorist attacks in public places.

Licensing SAVI is a self-assessment tool designed to help the owners and operators of licensed premises provide a safe and secure environment for their managers, staff, customers and local communities. It evolved following significant input from UK government security experts and licensing professionals.

Licensing SAVI brings together for the first time the most comprehensive, single source of information that licensees need to meet the requirements of police and council licensing teams, comply with the Licensing Act 2003 and promote the four Licensing Objectives: Prevention of Public Nuisance, Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Protection of Children from Harm and Public Safety.

Licensing SAVI provides definitive information on effective management practices and operational security as well as some practical safety measures, many of which can be introduced quickly and at little or no cost, which some licensed premises may not have considered before.

Licensing SAVI is an online self-assessment, which can be accessed on a laptop, tablet or phone at any time of the day and is the ideal ‘one-stop-shop’ to undertake a venue health check, which could be timely because of the return to work of staff who have been on furlough and the recruitment of new staff to replace those who have left. It provides personalised advice and recommendations, to assist premises to comply with the Licensing Act 2003.

Licensees that complete the self-assessment will receive a Star Rating and can then apply for Licensing SAVI Accreditation and an Award which can be displayed at their premises showing the efforts undertaken to enhance safety and security.

Appropriate for start-up businesses through to established operators, and single independent premises to large groups of venues, its advice and guidance embraces safety and security inside premises and in garden and other outdoor seating areas during operating hours to security when closed.

Critical issues covered include responsible drinking, drugs misuse, violent behaviour and safeguarding vulnerable customers through to opportunist theft and physical venue security.

It includes procedures such as pre-employment checks, age verification, managing unplanned large queues and customer searches through to ejecting badly behaving customers and dispersal arrangements when everyone leaves at the same time.

Other aspects of security are included too, such as staff identification, CCTV systems and lighting, identification scanning and intruder and hold-up alarms. There is a lot of focus upon vulnerability with a template female safety policy, bystander interventions and how to assist customers to get home safely, such as displaying taxi contact details or bus and train times, are included too.

There is even a non-assessed guidance section on counter terrorism and a COVID-19 risk assessment template for licensees to use.

The use of Licensing SAVI by venues will raise awareness of security and associated crime prevention, thus reducing vulnerability, crime and associated demand within licensed premises.

Further information on Licensing SAVI can be found at https://www.licensingsavi.com/. Should you wish to discuss Licensing SAVI as part of a bid, please contact .