GREATER Manchester Police were called out to pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants almost 7,000 times last year - and we've got the full list, see below this article.
Before all that though, a couple of caveats, and an important bit of context to the numbers.
All in all, given the size and popularity of Manchester, 6,700 calls isn't a huge number. And GMP were unable to provide details of each call - so for every fight, there's probably a lost mobile phone.
"We have a zero tolerance door policy.When we turn people away it can make them aggravated. That’s when trouble starts, outside the venue not inside.”
Some calls are made by the venues, others are made by members of the public and the name of the bar is often given as the nearest location.
And because the call is made, it doesn't necessarily follow that police had to attend - sometimes advice is given over the phone.
But what it does tell us is where the city is affected by swells of people. Pinch points are being created, it would seem.
And the number of calls by the individual bars in our top ten is up - which we think could be due to the increasing number of places that are opening later and later.
Some venues on Canal Street, for example, are looking to extend their opening hours until 6.30am in the morning and it's not unusual for venues in the Northern Quarter to open beyond 5am. Black Dog Ballroom has 70 calls against it - the highest in the area.
Jobe Ferguson, owner of Black Dog Ballroom, told Confidential the number of people who gather near the bar can affect the figures.
"Whilst we do take police call outs seriously we know that a large number of the 70 incidents stated in the report are outside the venue and often not directly involving our customers," he said.
"We are located on the corner of Church Street and Tib Street on a very busy junction of a very busy road so the through footfall is very high, a reason we picked the site for the bar.
"We also have a strict door policy of not permitting large groups of lads or people who are visibly intoxicated in the bar and this can sometimes prompt potential customers to feel that they have recourse to complain. Our door staff work hard to minimise this every day of the week.
"Some of these calls will come from our management team who keep in contact with the police to ensure customer safety and comply with the terms of our licence.
"As a bar open until 4am and 5am on Saturday nights, we work hard to ensure the safety of the large numbers of guests we welcome through our doors each month and will continue to do so throughout 2012."
It's a similar situation in the village, acoording to Tracey Walsh, licensee at New York New York, on Bloom Street - number seven in the top ten.
“We are the ones who make the call outs," she said. "We have a zero tolerance door policy and when we turn people away it can make them aggravated. That’s when trouble starts, outside the venue not inside.”
“I don’t think there is a problem with Bloom Street in particular, it’s just a unique case where you have got two taxi ranks within 100 yards of all the bars and plenty of takeaways. It’s a recipe for aggravation.”
“We are in regular contact with the police to try and improve the way we police ourselves and reduce trouble outside our venue.”
“We’ve only had one incident inside the venue in the last six months. We’ve actually been praised by police for helping to clean up Bloom Street and the increased police presence in the Village has been a success in my opinion."
AxmHaydn Pope, manager of nearby AXM (number 9), told Confidential: "Bloom Street in the early hours of the morning can be very busy and troublesome with people who are nothing to do with the venues situated on that street.
"I'm pleased to say that during the whole of 2011 we had a total of three internal incidents that resulted in the police needing to be called, although of course that is still three too many. In fact we recently received a letter from the police stating that our policies and procedures have resulted in a 'significant reduction' of incidents relating to AXM.
"We operate with a security team of six on the busy nights and we also operate a membership scheme with a dedicated member of staff on the front door so that we can police and monitor who is actually coming into the venue.
"We bag search everybody and operate a fierce no tolerance policy on drugs and anti-social behaviour, and we also have a Property Patrol with a member of staff constantly roaming the venue picking up left bags, coats and phones which otherwise would invariably result in a stolen property incident report.
"A visible and larger police presence is always good, and I would absolutely welcome a car or portacabin located on Bloom Street near to or outside our venue.
"Being seen as a landmark venue does tend to mean that people use us as a point of reference when ringing the police for issues or mobile phone thefts. My answer would be to pedestrianise it on weekend nights."
Manchester is becoming more about late bars than clubs nowadays. And the longer they stay open, the more people drink. The more people drink, the more likelihood of bother and mishaps.
And finally, before we reveal the top ten and the full list, a word about the Printworks.
As a location in itself, it had 319 calls to the police against it. Consider that it has an annual footfall of nine million and as a percentage of visitors, it's remarkably low - around six calls a week.
That said, it does attract trouble at times, as do other certain, more notorious areas of the city. Lounge 31 on Withy Grove (43 calls) had to close recently due to a mass brawl, and Revolution on Deansgate Locks - number 3 in the top ten - was in the headlines for several violent incidents last year.
You can see that the area behind the old BBC Building on Oxford Road is becoming busier - Fac251 and Joshua Brooks are both in the top ten, but they form a late-night triangle with 5th Avenue and are all very popular.
Victims of their own success?
Draw your own conclusions - but the list makes fascinating reading.
The top ten:
1. Fifth Avenue - 301
2. Tiger Tiger - 206
3. Revolution Deansgate Locks - 157
4. Fac 251 - 120
5. Yates' Wine Lodge - 116
6. Burger King, Moseley Street - 109
7. New York, New York - 106
8. Joshua Brooks - 105
9. AXM - 100
10. The HMV Ritz - 93
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL LIST
The following premises types were searched to provide the information - cafe/restaurant, Chinese restaurant, food industry, Indian restaurant, Italian restaurant, nightclub, other food/drink/catering, public house.
Premises have been displayed using the name of the establishment as given in the incident field and the street on which it is located, to allow distinction between chains.
Without reviewing each individual incident, it is not possible to determine if any police resources were allocated to the scene or if the incident was merely recorded and/or information/advice given over the telephone.
The A1 city centre neighbourhood has been used. The data covers the period January 1, 2011 to December 22, 2011.
