Tekhan wrote:
So called “legal clubs” – I dont think many follow the limits for how many can come in, sometimes they’re so overcrowded you cant move. Theres no one there to check the numbers every night is there.
True. Serious incidents can and do occur at both licensed and unlicensed events; they are a natural consequence of bringing together a large number of people, some of whom may not know how too look after themselves or may not particularly like one another and wish to settle scores at the social gathering.
But when people get hurt in accidents or even attacked and shot dead in shops or the town centre you don’t see calls for the shopping mall to be shut down, and the blue lights only seal off as much of the area as they need to to get paramedics through and to preserve the scene ….
you don’t see people saying “close down this dangerous shopping centre” or saying “large supermarkets are a magnet for crime”
with larger legal venues, the only difference is that money is changing hands to pay for the ambulances, cops etc that are required as a result of any trouble (the cost of this is passed back though in ticket/door entry prices!)
Also councils can charge a premium for PEL fees.
This country is full of nimbys who never wanted the late night economy in the first place and many of them occupy positions of power within society, they feel justified in trying to get as much money out of licensing as possible.
Every license for a late night venue music venue appears to be given out grudingly, with bad grace and prejudice that it will be a magnet for crime and disorder, it clearly seems that the desire within the Council Chambers is to see the venture fail.
Our government is still living in the Victorian era if not worse; young (and not so young people) are not to be heard and should only be seen on CCTV..
Then they wonder why people end up taking matters into their own hands, despite the risks of arrest, confiscations etc.
