About Surrey Pubwatch

• What is Surrey Pubwatch?
• What does Surrey Pubwatch do?
• What are its aims and achievements?
• Benfits of Pubwatch

Pubwatch is a crime prevention scheme, organised and run by licensees within the community. Their key aim is to promote a safe, secure environment in all licensed premises to help reduce alcohol related crime.

Members of Pubwatch schemes are linked by a telephone, radio or pager system, which enables them to pass on messages about criminal or disorderly behaviour quickly and efficiently. The object of this is to reduce criminal conduct in licensed premises, to notify other licensees of potential problems, and provide information and a support network for landlords and their staff.

Pubwatch also aims to improve the relationship between the licensed trade and the Police, by better identifying problems relating to violence, criminality or disorder on licensed premises and increasing communications between licensees and police officers. Local Pubwatch schemes aim to:

• Provide a message passing system
• Provide Mutual Aid
• Combat Violence
• Recognise and report possible problems
• Help the police by providing information that can make best use of their time and resources

Members of the scheme have agreed to support each other in an attempt to reduce the number of violent incidents in pubs and clubs. In particular they have agreed that anybody banned from one pub will be banned from all.

If any person, whilst in Licensed Premises;

• Assaults a member of staff
• Assaults a customer
• Uses or sells drugs
• Causes criminal damage to property
• Uses anti-social behaviour

Then they may be banned from entering any Licensed Premises which are a member of the Pubwatch scheme, for an indefinite period, depending upon the severity of the incident.

Surrey Police fully support the Pubwatch scheme and act in an advisory and supportive role only. All decisions taken to ban someone from the scheme are solely down to the Pubwatch membership.

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What is Surrey Pubwatch?

Surrey Pubwatch supports the individual Pubwatch Schemes across the 11 Boroughs of Surrey. The Boroughs it includes are Elmbridge, Epsom & Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead, Runnymead, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley and Woking. Surrey Pubwatch however is not itself a scheme but is an administrative tool to support the individual schemes within Surrey.

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What does Surrey Pubwatch do?

PubwatchSurrey.com is an entirely voluntary organisation set up to support existing pubwatches and encourage the creation of new pubwatch schemes within Surrey. The key aim of the Pubwatch initiative is to achieve a safer and responsibly led social drinking environment in all licensed premises throughout the Surrey helping to reduce alcohol-related crime.

Through a database of watches and people involved in Pubwatch it provides good practice and other related information through this website.  Advice can be provided on problem issues and how to actually go about setting up a watch.  In addition members of its Committee regularly conduct meetings and raise issues of concern found by participating schemes.

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What are its aims and achievements

1. Created a database of watches in Surrey.
2. Provided a county-wide voice for the concerns and problems facing schemes that are trying to prevent crime and violence in and around licensed premises.
3. Assisted in the creation of new watch schemes and support existing watches.
4. Provided advice support and assistance to existing schemes across the county.
5. Disseminated advice and good practice information.
6. Encouraged and supported several licensed premises to adopt positive policies towards pubwatch and their estate.
7. Produced a logo for county use
8. Produced window various promotional material for use by watches.
9. Provided support for various industry initiatives on social responsibility.
10. Made local authorities and Surrey Police aware of the support it can provide for watch schemes and Community Safety crime & disorder plans.
11. Produced and maintains a website at www.SurreyPubwatch.com
12. Raised the profile of Pubwatch in Surrey.

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Benefits of Pubwatch

For the licensed trade:

• Membership of Pubwatch deters troublemakers
• Reduces the risk of assaults on licensees, staff and customers
• Reduces the risk of damage to property
• Increases co-operation with the Police leading to swift assistance when required
• Improves public image and creates a safer environment in which trade will prosper
• Provides a platform for licensees to work together
• Shows that you operate a responsible premises
• PEACE OF MIND!

For Police:

• More informaton is provided about potential trouble-makers
• More precise details in calls for assistance and more efficient use of resources
• Violent incidents associated with licensed premises decrease
• Liaison and understanding with the licensed trade improves
• Reduces victims of crime

For the Town:

• Creates a safer environment in which all business in the Town will benefit and prosper
• Better image to customers
• More visitors

And most importantly, for the Customer:

• An enjoyable, safe and relaxing time in all Surrey Pubwatch venues
• Reduces the risk of disorder
• PEACE OF MIND!

Learn More about our members »

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