Licensing SAVI supports Pub Pride 2022

Friday 27^th May sees the second annual Pub Pride evening take place across the UK. Run by the Ask For Clive UK charity that works with Pubs and Venues to create welcome spaces and tackle discrimination, specifically that toward the LGBTQ+ community, Ask For Clive held the first Pub Pride nationally in July 2021. 

Pub Pride is a night for venues to celebrate their local LGBTQ+ community, and welcome Pride month in their home town. Despite being under restrictions in 2021, 200 venues from Aberdeen to Gibraltar hosted Pub Pride, with the aim for 2022 being a thousand venues.

Mark Morgan, Business Manager of the Licensing Security & Vulnerability Initiative (Licensing SAVI), a pioneering, police-led initiative to improve the safety and security of its premises for the benefit of staff, customers, and local communities, said: “We at Licensing SAVI wholeheartedly support Pub Pride and firmly believe that customers and staff at venues should not be subjected to any form of discrimination, abuse or hate crime, with our initiative being well placed to ensure venues are safe and secure for all. I have previously led the policing response to many Pride festivals which have been fun and inclusive events – we hope that Pub Pride and associated events are a huge success. Good luck and have a great time!”

Individuals from the LGBTQ+ community say they feel far less safe in licensed premises today than they did prior to the pandemic, according to a recent YouGov survey.

With safety defined as ‘where efforts have been made to prevent crime, reduce harm and where staff will support you if you are feeling vulnerable’, the fall in feeling safe in the LGBTQ+ community was consistent across a wide range of licensed premises including bars, pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, guest houses, theatres, stadiums, arenas and sports and social clubs.

The largest fall in feeling safe for members of the LGBTQ+ community is in nightclubs where 76% felt safe before the first national lockdown in March 2020 compared to 42% today – a fall of 34 percentage points.

Their second largest fall in feeling safe is in bars and pubs which is down 33 percentage points from 89% pre-pandemic to 56% today. The third largest fall is in stadiums and arenas with a fall from 87% to 55% - a fall of 32 percentage points. Percentage point falls in feeling safe in all the other licensed premises in the survey ranged between 22%-27%.

Approximately one-third of the LGBTQ+ community would have visited pubs, bars and nightclubs more often if they felt safer. The survey showed 36% would have visited bars and pubs more and 30% would have visited nightclubs more. In addition, between 19-26% of LGBTQ+ respondents surveyed would have visited all the other licensed premises included in the survey more if they had felt safe.

The research of 5,050 adults aged 18-45 in England, carried out between 16 August – 5 September, was commissioned by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI), a police-owned organisation, which works alongside the Police Service to deter and reduce crime.

One of Police CPI’s latest initiatives is Licensing SAVI, which seeks to improve safety and security in licensed premises. Available as an on-line self-assessment, Licensing SAVI brings together, for the first time, all the information that licensed premises need to comply with the requirements of local police and council licensing teams, achieve a star-rating and have the opportunity to apply for Licensing SAVI accreditation and an award.

Licensing SAVI was developed at the request of the Home Office by Police CPI, which works alongside the Police Service to deter and reduce crime. As well as provide safer and more secure venues for managers, staff, customers, and local communities, it also seeks to reduce demand on Police Forces, NHS Ambulance Services and Accident & Emergency Departments.

Licensing SAVI covers critical issues like responsible drinking, drugs misuse, violent behaviour and safeguarding vulnerable customers through to preventing opportunist theft and improving physical security, such as lighting and CCTV.

Most measures included in Licensing SAVI can be introduced quickly and at little or no cost.

The first police award of its kind, Licensing SAVI aims to support the licensing trade and is backed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Project Servator, a police-led vigilance scheme to deter terrorist attacks at crowded-places.