Inspection System Review 2008 –

Using Risk Assessment for Compliance Activities

Alcohol and Gaming DivisionInvestigation and

Enforcement

Background• Alcohol and Gaming Division (AGD):

–Liquor Control Act

–Gaming Control Act

–Theatre and Amusement Act

–Smoke Free Places Act

Background

• 2900 Licensed Premises –1100 in Halifax Region

• 40,000 Inspections–14,000 in Halifax Region

Background – Compliance Officers• 24 Compliance Officers: –8 Compliance Officers in Halifax area

• Approximately 1500-2000 inspections per officer per year. (excluding Casinos)

• Typically Inspecting:–Liquor Premises–Near full-time staffing at both Casinos

–Bingo–Film

Background – AGD Focus

• Liquor Licensed Premises:–Underage–Intoxication – Over Service–Patron Accommodation – Over Crowding

Types of Liquor Licences• Eating Establishment: A restaurant serving: beer, wine, and other liquors to accompany meals.

• Lounge: A premises with an Eating Establishment License serving beer, wine, and other liquors, with or without food service.

• Cabaret: A “large scale” establishment featuring live entertainment, serving beer, wine, and other liquors. (Food service not required, open later)

Types of Liquor Licences (cont’d)• Beverage Room: A pub style facility serving beer and wine only (no hard liquor).

• Club: Organization with club facilities for members and their guests.

• Special Occasion: Private functions such as weddings, anniversaries, banquets where liquor is given away or community fundraisers where liquor will be resold.

• Special Premises: Nature of business does not allow them to qualify for any of the other forms of liquor licensing.

Premises - Halifax AreaBev.

RoomCabarat Club

Eating Est.

LoungeSpecial Prem

Other Bingo/FE

Total

Halifax 4 4 22 100 83 47 127 387Dartmouth 3 1 18 30 46 20 126 244Bedford + Area

1 0 14 20 22 10 117 184

Enfield+ Area

0 0 11 14 4 13 83 125

Sackville + Area

0 0 8 11 17 15 76 127

Totals: 8 5 73 175 172 105 529 1067

* For simplicity this presentation will focus on liquor inspections only.

Background – Why Change?• Dec 2007 – Incidents in DT Halifax identified a need to review our Inspection System.

• April 2008 – Senior Management requested review of inspection system and Halifax Area territories.

• April 2008 – Officers and staff were requested to submit proposals on inspection criteria.

Scope of Risk Assessment Review• Focus on Halifax Region–8 Compliance Officers (and 2 in Casino Halifax) creates greater flexibility.

–Smaller geographical area per Compliance Officer territory.

Former Inspection System

• All Liquor Premises scheduled to be inspected once per week.–Pros:

•Consistent – Fairness to ALL Licensees

•Easy to implement/maintain–Cons:

•Large number of premises were inspected more often then required:– Example: Small restaurant, closes each night at 11pm inspected the same amount as a large downtown cabaret or lounge.

Risk Assessment Review – Goals• System must be fair to Licensees

–Increase in inspection to a premises must be justifiable

• System must be fluid enough to work on a ‘case-by-case’ basis and structured enough to allow for consistent application

• Projected total number of inspections must remain close to current–No additional resources available

Identifying Risk Assessment Criteria• Review past incidents for trends• Brainstorm ideas from front line staff: Compliance Officers

• Developed the 4 Major Criteria:– Type of license– Size of Establishment:

• Patron Accommodation– Demographics:

• Dance Club vs. Dining– Past/Future Events:

• Non-Compliance, Police Reports, License History, Complaints, Special Events

Identifying Risk Assessment Criteria

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Cabaret Club Eating Estab. Lounge Special Prem.

Current Inspections Compliance Incidents

• Type of License

Identifying Risk Assessment Criteria• Patron Accommodation:

– Simple Numbers Game: • the more people the greater the risk of incident.

Number of Licenses by Patron Accommodation0-200 200-400 400-600 600-800 800+

Beverage Room 7 1 0 0 0Cabaret 1 1 1 1 1Club 25 33 15 2 6Eating Establishment 168 16 0 0 1Lounge 84 83 22 4 0

Total Premises and Incidents

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

0-200 200-400 400-600 600-800 800+

Total Premises Compliance Incidents

Identifying Risk Assessment Criteria• Patron Accommodation:–More Difficult to Evaluate: AGD records maximum number of people permitted in a premises, however a larger premises may not necessarily have large numbers of people

–However it can be noted: Premises with 500 or more patrons warrant closer attention

Identifying Risk Assessment Criteria• Premises Demographics:

–Dining Room Atmosphere: Lower Risk•Background Music•Tables•Typically: Single Server per Patron

–Dance Club Atmosphere: Higher Risk•Music as Primary Source of Entertainment/Dancing

•No Tables – Areas of Over Crowding•Less Service Control•More Individuals Under 25

Identifying Risk Assessment Criteria• Premises Demographics:Dance ClubAtmosphere:

Identifying Risk Assessment Criteria• Past/Future Events:–Contravention of the Regulations

•Noted by Compliance Officer–Police Reports

•Intoxication, Control, etc.–License History–Public Complaints–Special Events

•Cheap Drinks, Pub Crawls, Special Entertainment

Applying Risk Assessment

• Need to Select One Criteria to Establish a Baseline Inspection Frequency

• Unanimous agreement, the most significant criteria: Type of License

Applying Risk Assessment

•Baseline Inspection Frequency:–2 per Week: Cabaret–1 per Week: Lounge/Eating Establishment and Beverage Room

–2 per Month: Club –1 per Month: Special Prem., and Eating Establishment

Inspections and Incidents

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Cabaret Club Eating Estab. Lounge Special Prem.

Current Inspections Compliance Incidents

Inspections and Incidents - Projected

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Cabaret Club Eating Estab. Lounge Special Prem.

Current Inspections Compliance Incidents Projected Inspections

Applying Risk Assessment• Developed Four Baseline Risk Levels:

• Level 5 - Extreme Situations (Public Safety):– 3 (or more) Inspections per week– 2 (or more) Compliance Officers per Inspection

  CabaretLounge/

Bev. RoomClub

Special Prem./Eating Estab.

Baseline Risk Level:

4 3 2 1

Baseline InspectionsPer Month

8 4 2 1

Applying Risk Assessment - Other• Options for Addressing Other Risk Criteria:–Permanent or Temporary Increase to Inspection Level •Example: Lounge from Level 3 to Level 4

–Targeted Inspection•Specific Day or Time of Risk

–Increasing Number of Compliance Officers•Targeted During Quarterly Sweeps (4-5 Compliance Officers per Inspection)

Applying Risk Assessment - Other• Patron Accommodation and Demographics:–Permanent Risks:

•400+ Patron Accommodation•Typically Operating Close to Capacity.•Dance Club Atmosphere: Areas of Over Crowding– Action: Permanent Increase of Risk Level, to a maximum Level 4.

–Short Term Risks fall under Past/Future Events

Applying Risk Assessment - Other• Past/Future Events:–Wide Variety of Higher Risk Events:

•Contravention of Regulations•Special Events:

– Drink Specials ($1 Drinks)– Concert / Live-to-Air

•Loss of Control - Large Scale Fight•Police Report: Multiple Arrests for Intoxication

•Compliance Officer Notes - New/Inexperienced Bar Staff

•Compliance Officers finds Potential Over-Crowding

Applying Risk Assessment - Other• Past/Future Events:

–Wide Range of Possible Action:•Increase Risk Level for a set period of time or until concerns are corrected

•Attempt to avoid risk all together and raise concerns to Licensee prior to the event

•Coordinating efforts with Police for a joint effort

•Immediate Repeat Inspection: Same/Next Day

Applying Risk Assessment - Other• Application of the Past/Future Events is Considerably more subjective than “Type of License”

• Therefore:–Any inspections in additional to the Baseline quota must be followed up with an Officer’s report to file explaining the incident.

–A recommendation for a longer term Risk Level Increase will be Evaluated between Compliance Officer and Supervisor

Risk Assessment Review – Goals• System must be fair to Licensees–Increase in inspection to a premises must be justifiable•Data to support the current change•Report to file for any additional changes in inspection frequency

Risk Assessment Review – Goals• System must be fluid enough to work on a ‘case-by-case’ basis and structured enough to allow for consistent application

•Monitor and Review is ongoing, no permanent inspection frequencies changes have been made so far however some needs have been identified:– Inspection Frequency for Lounges needs to be broken down to High and Low Risk lounges, consider reducing inspection frequency for lower risk lounges.

– Consider increasing Special Prem. Inspections.

Risk Assessment Review – Goals• Projected total number of inspections must remain close to current– Before: 13,981– After: 14,259– However showed a clear need for an increased Compliance Officer presence in Downtown Halifax• Before: Only 1 CO was on duty each night in DT Halifax

• After: 2 COs on duty each night in DT Halifax

Conclusion• Based on information provided by officers, staff, and management, this is an initial step in a new method to conduct our inspections of licensed premises.

• Ultimately this is a culture shift and a change in the way we do our inspections, will take some time.

• Thus far (4 Months in) results have been very positive, still working on developing communications to support the system.