Violent crime and public order problems were cited by Sussex Police as the force objected to a new food outlet being granted a drinks licence in a busy Brighton street. Police licensing officer Claire Abdulkader said that St James’s Street had a dedicated police presence because it was an area of concern. She said that there were 1,670 recorded incidents, including 691 crimes, within a 160-metre radius over the past year.
Her comments to a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel were made at a hearing to decide whether to grant a premises licence to Malo, an Argentinian empanada outlet. The top three types of crime were violence (228 crimes or 33 per cent), theft (206 crimes or 30 per cent) and public order (96 crimes or 14 per cent). Ms Abdulkader said: “There are regular incidents occurring within the locality requiring police attention.
“It’s an area that attracts street drinking and drug-related offences and these incidents are spread throughout the day and into the early hours.” The family who submitted the licence application already run a branch of Malo in Duke Street, Brighton , and a restaurant, the Baqueano steak house, in Western Road, Brighton. They plan to open a second branch of Malo tomorrow (Thursday 25 July) in the shop formerly known as DescryUK at 90 St James’s Street.
Malo is run by a family of Argentinians and Italians – Jorge Pautasso, 56, Adriana Torrembo, 58, Mariel Pautasso, 29, and Borja Pautasso, 22. They opened their Duke Stree.