Bouncers laying into pub, club patrons - Australia

[WtD_Oracle]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/b ... 5842547451

MORE than 10 per cent of assaults in pubs and clubs are committed by bouncers - the very people employed to protect patrons.

A study of assaults in NSW licensed premises found doormen and other staff were responsible for 12 per cent of all recorded bashings.

"In the most serious of these incidents the victims were left with broken bones by over-zealous security guards," the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) said of its study which looked at 352 assaults recorded by police in 2007 and 2008.

It found patrons were usually to blame for the incidents, especially if they had been recently refused service or thrown off the premises.

But BOCSAR deputy director Jackie Fitzgerald said the number of security guards involved in assaults was "a serious concern".

"It seems some security guards are performing their jobs with a lot more enthusiasm than they need to," she said. "That is really concerning because these people are in a position of authority and a position of power. Some of these people seem to be abusing that."

In the study, Ms Fitzgerald cited an incident where a patron was evicted from a bar, taken out the back and kicked in the head and chest by security staff as he lay on the ground, suffering two broken teeth, a broken nose and a cut face.

Ms Fitzgerald suggested better training and tighter regulation of the security industry would help reduce such assaults.

But the Australian Industry Security Association, which represents about 85 per cent of the industry, said the existing requirements in NSW were already Australia's most stringent.

The organisation's chief executive Bryan de Caires said it took 77 hours of training to get the licence required to be a qualified pub or club security guard.

"But unfortunately there are potential vulnerabilities in the quality of the training," he said.

"There have been some inconsistencies in the delivery (of bouncers' services) which is not good."

Mr de Caires said security guards caught assaulting patrons needed to feel "the full force of the law", just like anyone else.

Police Minister Michael Daley said a proposal was being prepared to reform the security industry.

"The NSW Police Force regularly visits pubs and clubs to ensure security are operating within the law, are properly credentialled and fulfilling their responsibilities," he said. "Any person charged with assault committed while performing security activities has their licence immediately revoked."