New measures mooted to tackle crime in Albert Road to restrict the number of places selling alcohol

Portsmouth City Council’s Licensing Committee is set to look at a new police report on alcohol-related crime in Albert Road, which will help decide if the council should consult on bringing in a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) for the road.

A CIA is a special policy which gives the council more power to control the number of new alcohol licences in areas with a lot of crime or disturbance linked to drinking. If a CIA is in place, anyone applying for a new licence must show their plans will not make existing problems worse.

Albert Road was suggested as a possible CIA area earlier this year. Since then, police have looked closely at crime figures to see if there is enough evidence to support this idea.

The council report compares Albert Road to Guildhall Walk, which already has a CIA. In 2024, Guildhall had 796 crimes linked to the night-time economy, while Albert Road had 542. After removing crimes such as theft and incidents involving people living in supported housing, Albert Road’s number dropped to 354.

“The Police have seen a slight increase in crime and disorder in the Albert Road NTE over the last 12 months,” the report says. “This has led to an increase in police presence in the area as well as a targeted approach to Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) offences.”

The police also said that a CIA is not the only option. “A CIA on its own will not prevent crime and disorder. It gives the licensing authority a process to prevent new applications or variations to existing licences within the specified area.”

At this stage, the police do not think a CIA is needed for Albert Road. “The Police consider that they can continue to monitor the effect of applications within the Albert Road area without the requirement for a CIA,” the report states.

The Licensing Committee meet to look at the report, on April 23, and decide whether to launch a public consultation or keep watching the area for now.