13 September 2004

Ottaway: Croydon's bars should pay for police

Richard Ottaway, Conservative Member of Parliament for Croydon South today said:

"We have a serious problem in policing Croydon's night-time economy. The riots after England's exit from the European cup are an illustration. Every weekend substantial numbers of police are drafted into Croydon town centre to maintain law and order"

"It is right that the Police should do so but not at the expense of other areas in the Borough. Every policeman in Croydon's town centre on a Saturday night is a policeman not on the streets of Thornton Heath or Coulsdon. We need extra police in the town centre to deal with specific problem of binge drinking and resulting social disorder. The question is who pays for the extra police?"

"The real beneficiaries of the night time economy are the large bars and nightclubs. In my judgement these are the people who should be paying for the extra police out of their substantial profits - not the tax-payer. Football clubs have to pay the extra cost of policing football matches why not these bars?"

ENDS

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