New guidance on false ID

The guidance sets out new advice on acceptable forms of ID and what door staff and licensees need to do to tackle false documents. It congratulated the licensed sector on efforts to reduce under-age sales, which have led to a fall in figures over the last few years—but pointed out that the same efforts had also led to a rise in the market for false ID. Lord Henley, minister of state for crime prevention and anti-social behavior reduction, said in his introduction to the guidance: “We are aware that false ID is a problem in a number of areas and that police, door supervisors and staff who serve alcohol are sometimes uncertain about how to deal with this issue. This document is a plain English guide to the legislation relevant to false ID, to the types of valid ID, and to what action should be taken when presented with false ID.”

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers gave a broad welcome to the guidance. Strategic affairs director Kate Nicholls said: “It is great that the Home Office has endorsed industry efforts to tackle the problem of under-age sales and the investment in Proof of Age—and the figures show that this is having a very real impact as under-age drinking is down dramatically. As an active member of the PASS Board, we are particularly pleased that Ministers have sent a clear signal that PASS is the preferred means of verifying age and that military ID is acceptable for the first time, something we have been campaigning about for some time.”

But Nicholls added that more remained to be done in other quarters. “The very fact that that the government needs to publish Guidance on Fake ID, however, suggests that whilst the industry has done its bit to shut off supply, other stakeholders need to do much more to choke demand. The guidance rightly highlights that it is an offence for an individual to buy or attempt to buy alcohol or for someone to buy alcohol on behalf of someone who is underage, but these offences are seldom prosecuted and few young people are even aware of them.”

She also called for tough messages from the top down. “In America, the drinking and purchasing culture did not change until you had a clear statement of intent from President Bill Clinton—“No ID, No Sale”—backed up by enforcement action. It is time for a similar approach here.”

To download the Home Office’s new guidance on false ID, click here.