Exclusion Notices are designed to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in or near our member’s premises to make Staffordshire and its towns and city centres a safer and prosperous place to work and visit. They are also intended to send out a strong message that such behaviour is not tolerated in our towns and city centres in Staffordshire. They are governed by strict protocols and are not issued lightly.
FAQ: Why have I received an Exclusion Notice from PABCIS banning me from entering some places in Staffordshire?
Answer:
The various shops and pubs and clubs that our members own are private property. This means that, while the public are ‘invited’ to enter them, the owners can decide to refuse admission to anyone at any time. We believe that our Members’ right to protect their staff and customers from harm or loss outweighs your rights and freedoms that you will lose by being excluded and we have performed a ‘balance of interests’ test to make sure.
All of our members have also given the BCRP their permission to stop people from entering their businesses. The exclusion notice will list the premises from which you have been excluded. Normally this will be a sub group of PABCIS and so will include the premises in that sub group. However, if you offend in more than one area of Staffordshire the area of exclusion may be extended to a wider geographical area. When we receive a report from one of our members about an incident of anti-social behaviour or criminal activity that you have been involved in, either within or near one of our member’s premises, we put the details on our database.
When we receive a certain number of reports about incidents that you have been involved in we will issue you with an Exclusion Notice which bans you from going into our members’ properties for a period of time and in accordance with an exclusion policy which has been agreed with the members. Your details, including a photograph, will then be circulated to our members so they know you have been banned and they will not let you in.
Wherever possible we will write to you before you get enough incidents to merit a ban to let you know that unless your behaviour changes you are heading for an Exclusion Notice but we do not guarantee this and if you don’t get this ‘warning letter’ it will not invalidate an Exclusion Notice that is issued later. However, there is a zero tolerance approach in relation to violence and drugs issues, and also in relation to incidents within the night time economy due to the wider impact of incidents in that environment on the wider public and staff and so you can receive an Exclusion Notice for a single criminal incident. It is also possible that you could be excluded for a single retail incident dependent upon the circumstances.
There is an appeal procedure in place and if you think the exclusion notice is wrong you should appeal on www.pabcis.co.uk or write to PABCIS HUB, Hanley Police and Fire Station, Lower Bethesda Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST1 3RP
Your appeal must be in writing and it will be considered by the BCRP’s Board of Management. You can also telephone 01785 233190 for further information.