Photo credit: Max Willcock / Shutterstock.com
Wetherspoon boss Sir Tim Martin has praised the growth of Pubwatches claiming they have helped to improve behaviour of customers in the pub sector.
In an article in The Economist earlier this month the pubco leader highlighted that when firms and authorities “get their act together” behaviour can improve dramatically.
Martin, the founder of over 800 Wetherspoon pubs, said that two changes had really contributed to this improvement.
He said the growth of Pubwatch schemes, which enables pubs to form a united front against troublesome customers and to implement “banned from one, banned from all” was a strong incentive not to cause trouble.
He also highlighted the impact of the Licensing Act, which saw growing tolerance with children allowed into pubs.
This is not the first time that Martin has spoken about Pubwatch. When interviewed at the National Pubwatch conference in Cardiff in 2020 he stated that “Pubwatch is a no brainer” and “A great way of improving standards of social behaviour”.
A recent Crimewatch Live programme also showcased how pubwatches can contribute to a safe night-time economy.
Former Sergeant David Moore of Devon and Cornwall Police explained how working in partnership with pubwatch helped to improve the safety in Plymouth.
Moore, who was awarded the Malcolm Eidmans Award for his commitment to partnership working last year and efforts to make the evening and night time economy safer in Plymouth, also highlighted the deterrent of “Banned from one, Banned from all.”
Moore said: “Pubwatch is a national organisation which was created in 1997 to make the night-time economy better and safer for people. It works with the Home Office and the Police and with the licensing trade.”
Moore explained how as a police officer he wanted to change the relationship between the police and licensed trade to make it more proactive and preventative as well as utilising the skills of the people working in the night time economy who could see “what bad behaviour looked like within their community.”