Agenda item

THAMES VALLEY POLICE CASE

Minutes:

DebiePearmain, Police Licensing Officer, expressed Thames Valley Police’s support of the Applicant to prevent public nuisance. She expressed that the community warden logs were a snapshot of the premises, which were taken when the wardens drove past the premises and not necessarily taken whilst in the car park or within the premises.

 

The Police Licensing Officer supported the recommendations made in the application, confirmed there was CCTV placed inside the premises, and clarified that the CCTV recommendation was for further CCTV to be installed at the side and rear of Pazzia. The Police Licensing Officer supported the reduced hours and said since the last hearing where the Sub-Committee refused to extend the licensing hours, there has been ongoing noise and disturbance to the residence.

 

DebiePearmain brought the attention of the Sub-Committee to two incidences outlined in the agenda pack. The first incidence was on 20th April 2019 at 2315 hours, when Debie Pearmain and Licensing Officers Steve Smith and Sarah Conquest attended the premises. They walked to the front of neighbouring property on the boundary of the Pazzia and positioned themselves out of view. It was busy and they monitored the area until 2322 hours to establish what time the music would stop. After a risk assessment, they agreed not to enter the premises; had the risk not been high, they intended to speak to the DPS regarding the loud music. At 2324 hours, they observed the Community Wardens arrive in a marked van, when the music levels were turned down. After the Wardens left the premises, the Manager walked to the front of the premises, which was when he saw Debie Pearmain and the Licensing Officers. As they had been seen, they were satisfied that full compliance would be given in relation to licensable activities.

 

The next incident Debie Pearmain addressed was on 16th September 2019 at 2321 hours. The Wardens attended the premises to ensure that the voluntary Licensing restrictions were being met. They noted that the restrictions were not being complied with as the premises front lights were on and customers were smoking at the front of the premises after 2300 hours. The Wardens requested to speak to the Manager and met Mr Candido Rodrigues, who aimed abuse towards the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and stated he would not comply with the restrictions and the Borough was costing him money. The Warden stated that Mr Candido Rodrigues aimed abuse at the neighbours who were not present, making repeated comments such as “I’m going to kill him” and once said “I’m going to kill him and go to jail for him”. The Warden said Mr Candido Rodrigues said he once chased the neighbour with a meat cleaver in the past. Initially the Wardens were not concerned about the threats, however after debriefing their Manager and gaining a better understanding of the ongoing tension between the parties, they believed that the threats made may follow through.

 

A voluntary interview was held with Mr Candido Rodrigues on the 16th October 2019, who was spoken to by PC Terry and was warned about his future contact with the Community Wardens and Council officers. He was reminded to be mindful of his language and the way he communicated with people, as it was unacceptable to be swearing and acting aggressively towards people for doing their job. The Police Officer warned Mr Candido Rodrigues not to interact with the neighbours.

 

DebiePearmain went on to explain that on 23rd February 2020, a male had been in Pazzia prior to an alleged assault in the cark park area. The male had been deemed as a missing person, which was disclosed to the officers when he was found, but he did not want to take any further action.The Chairman asked if the male was the victim or perpetrator of crime in the restaurant, and it was confirmed he was the victim.

 

With regards to the recommended conditions and the reduction in hours of the license, Debie Pearmain believed this would assist in the public nuisance licensing objective. She stated that the management of premises needed to recognise that they must work with all agencies and residents to ensure the balance of the business needs and local needs are met.

 

Ben Higgs, community warden for Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead introduced himself and added in support of Debie Pearmain that for the last two years that he has been with the Council in which he had visited Pazzia, he had noticed people at the front of the premises on most occasions. Mr Higgs said he met Mr Candido Rodrigues on two occasions, and Mr Rodrigues had been aggressive on both of those occasions. He clarified that in one shift, he had between 6 and 18 visits to premises to visit, therefore these were a quick snapshot of what occurs on the premises.