West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison calls for police levy on bars

Oct 31 2009 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

He took a tour of the town centre with Pc Chris Hill, of Huddersfield South Neighbourhood Policing Team.

They went to Huddersfield Bus Station, which saw half as many robberies this summer as last.

He also took a walk down King Street and Cross Church Street to find out about the challenges facing police at night.

Sir Norman said: “When I was policing operations some years ago, once you got the pubs closed at 11.30pm and people were on the bus home the town was quiet and you could deploy your officer strength in a different way

“Now the clubs stay open principally because they are in competition with each other for a market share.

“If they were required to close at one or 2am I don’t think it would affect their profits a great deal. They are all staying open because they have to.

“The cafe culture that 24 hour licensing was intended to create hasn’t come to pass in a lot of our towns and cities. It has created a lout culture.

“I’m not wanting to create a political storm, all I’m saying from a chief constable’s point of view is that policing comes at a price.”