Ray Bailey

Ray Bailey is the Director of Training and Educational Lead at Complete Licensing. He brings more than 30 years of Metropolitan Police experience to his work with licensed premises, hospitality operators, entertainment venues and professionals working throughout the night-time economy.

A highly experienced licensing consultant and trainer, Ray combines detailed knowledge of alcohol licensing and regulatory compliance with a practical understanding of how licensed businesses operate.

Metropolitan Police licensing experience

Ray retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2017 following more than three decades of police service. During his final eight years with the Metropolitan Police, he specialised in alcohol licensing, licensed-premises compliance and the management of crime and disorder connected with the night-time economy.

Ray supervised the Metropolitan Police licensing team responsible for Westminster and London’s West End — one of the busiest, most varied and demanding entertainment districts in the United Kingdom.

This involved working with bars, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, security providers, local authorities and other responsible authorities. He dealt with complex premises, major events and businesses operating in areas experiencing significant pressure from alcohol-related crime, public nuisance and late-night activity.

That experience gave Ray an exceptional working knowledge of the four licensing objectives established by the Licensing Act 2003:

• the prevention of crime and disorder;
• public safety;
• the prevention of public nuisance; and
• the protection of children from harm.

Ray understands how police licensing officers and other responsible authorities examine an application, assess risk and determine whether proposed licence conditions will work in practice.

Home Office and Government Alcohol Strategy

Ray’s career also included a secondment to the Home Office Drugs and Alcohol Unit. During this period, he contributed a frontline policing and licensing perspective to the development and implementation of the Government’s Alcohol Strategy.

The strategy addressed issues including alcohol-related crime, irresponsible retailing, late-night disorder, licensing enforcement and the responsibilities of businesses selling alcohol.

Ray’s Home Office experience gave him valuable insight into the relationship between government policy, police enforcement, local-authority decision-making and the operational responsibilities placed upon premises licence holders.

That strategic understanding now helps Complete Licensing clients translate national policy and licensing legislation into sensible, proportionate and workable operating procedures.

London 2012 Olympic licensing and event planning

Ray also undertook licensing and event-planning work connected with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Games required extensive cooperation between the Metropolitan Police, government departments, licensing authorities, venue operators, event organisers and security providers. The scale of this undertaking is documented in the Government’s official collection of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games reports.

Ray’s involvement strengthened his expertise in major-event planning, multi-agency cooperation, public safety, crowd management and the responsible sale of alcohol at high-profile events.

Local-authority policy and regulatory experience

Ray subsequently became the Metropolitan Police licensing lead for the London Borough of Bexley.

In this role, he contributed to the development and revision of local Licensing and Gambling Policies. His work required an understanding of both the Licensing Act 2003 and the regulatory framework established by the Gambling Act 2005.

Ray also developed training following serious incidents, helping police officers, licensed businesses and other stakeholders understand how incidents should be managed, recorded and investigated.

Professional licensing and compliance training

Training has been a central part of Ray’s career. He has designed and delivered courses for:

• premises licence holders and designated premises supervisors;
• hospitality and entertainment venue managers;
• bar, restaurant and nightclub employees;
• door supervisors and private security personnel;
• police officers and licensing practitioners; and
• businesses preparing for licence applications or compliance inspections.

Ray was a nominated trainer for the BIIAB Crime Scene Preservation programme for the licensed trade. This specialist training covers subjects such as emergency communication, protecting evidence, managing customers following a serious incident and producing reliable incident records. Further information about the qualification and its practical content can be found in this independent overview of crime-scene preservation training for licensed premises.

Following his retirement from the Metropolitan Police, Ray continued delivering regulatory, policing and hospitality-industry training, including bespoke courses designed around the risks faced by individual businesses and venues.

Ray Bailey and Complete Licensing

As Director of Training and Educational Lead, Ray helps clients improve standards, reduce regulatory risk and demonstrate that their premises can operate responsibly. His areas of expertise include premises-licence compliance, alcohol licensing, staff and management training, crime-and-disorder prevention, incident management and crime-scene preservation, age verification, security and door supervision, CCTV and evidence retention, major-event planning, operating schedules and licence conditions, responsible alcohol retailing, night-time economy risk management, licensing and gambling policy, and multi-agency engagement.

Ray’s approach is practical and evidence-led. He can identify weaknesses in an operation, explain why they matter and help the business introduce measures that its managers and employees can realistically follow.

For operators preparing a new premises-licence application, seeking a variation of an existing licence, facing compliance concerns or requiring specialist staff training, Ray provides the combination of strategic knowledge and frontline experience that can make a substantial difference.

Read more: Keeping clients on the right course