Police furious with town centre bar after vital CCTV vanishes

Detectives have put a town centre bar under the spotlight after they say vital CCTV evidence vanished during an investigation.

Police investigating after hours disorder at the Oath Lounge on Lord Street say CCTV footage which would have aided their work mysteriously vanished.

The incident involved a woman allegedly being restrained on the floor when police arrived after closing time one evening.

They now say they have no confidence in how the small bar is run and have forced the council into launching a review of the bar’s licence.

A report to the council’s licensing committee states that “serious concerns” around management arose after instances were staff failed to cooperate with police over matters of crime and disorder.

The statement adds: “Upon arrival it was clear the bar was no longer open to the public, as the door to the premises were locked” with officers having “good reason to believe” that drinks were still being served in the locked venue.

Officers requested access to CCTV footage but found the venue had been locked behind them, preventing the request being made.

Several days later, officers returned to the Oath Lounge seeking CCTV footage and were given access by a cleaner to the CCTV equipment, which was not stored in a “secure” part of the building.

After reviewing the footage and taking a copy, officers returned to the station to discover a problem with the files they had downloaded. Returning shortly after to the venue to request a fresh copy, it was found to be locked.

When the owner opened the door, officers stated they were refused entry into the bar to discuss the request and were also refused access to the CCTV. When they returned several days later with a further request, which was allowed, it was found at that point the CCTV had been “wiped.”

As part of Oath Lounge’s licensing conditions, CCTV recordings should be retained for 31 days and made available to officers following a reasonable request.

Merseyside Police stated that in wiping the CCTV, this constituted a breach of the licencing objectives, with a further breach relating to the way the CCTV was not stored securely – adding this was not the first time there had been problems gaining cooperation over footage.