ORGANISERS of major events will have to pay for policing in future if the States approve proposals unveiled by Home Affairs.

And if charging comes into force, next year the Jersey Live concert promoters could face a bill of more than £5,000.

Home Affairs Assistant Minister Andrew Lewis said that ‘traditional’ events like the Battle of Flowers and Battle of Britain would remain exempt from policing charges.

However, events deemed to be ‘commercial or profitmaking’ would attract charges of more than £55 an hour for having a superintendent or chief inspector in attendance and nearly £30 an hour for every police constable on duty.

Deputy Lewis said that it was not right for taxpayers to subsidise policing costs at events which the organisers were staging to make profits.

He said that it was standard practice in the UK for forces to charge for policing major events such as football matches and concerts.

‘The Jersey Live organisers, for example, were surprised that they were not being charged for policing,’ he said.