DISTRICT Commander Alan Cook said he thinks it is right that bars and clubs staying open late should contribute to city centre policing costs.
Chelmsford City Council's proposed late night levy scheme, which would see bars paying as much as £85 a week for the right to serve alcohol until the early hours, was recommended for approval at a licensing meeting last week.
"Policing is not free," said Chief Inspector Cook. "It costs us a huge amount of money for us to police the city centre. Therefore I think it's right that if people help contribute, it makes it a better place.
"Rather than hitting business and making it bad for business, if we make it safer we'll make it even better and we might see even more people wanting to come here.
"There is a huge drain on our resources so therefore, for what I would consider is a relatively small cost we are asking the people who are in effect creating the visitors to pay towards the policing."
