§ Sir Michael SpicerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will publish the criteria by which police forces charge for providing security at(a) folk festivals and (b) other cultural events; [123468]
(2) if it is his policy that police forces should have discretion as to (a) the amount of security that they provide at public and private events and (b) how much they charge for such services. [123467]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe decision whether to charge for costs of policing at local events is for the local police authority and the Chief Constable.
Under Section 25(1) of the Police Act 1996,
the Chief Officer of Police may provide, at the request of any person, special police services at any premises or in any locality in the police area for which the force is maintained, subject to the payment to the police authority of charges on such scales as may be determined by that authority.The rationale behind charging is that the taxpayer at large should not be asked to pay for services provided at private events or events which benefit only a relatively small section of the community. It is for the Chief Officer concerned to determine whether a given service would constitute a special police service. Special police services are not defined in the 1996 Act or elsewhere. I would expect them to be services which meet some or all of the following criteria:
they are not part of the general duty of the police to keep the peace and protect life and property;the service to be provided is on private land; andthe Service to be provided is for a commercially organised event.