'08 law to train bouncers mostly ignored - USA

[WtD_Oracle]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... ly-ignored

A law intended to require training for Polk County bouncers has resulted in training for only a fraction of the people doing that work in nightclubs.

Fewer than 100 people have been trained, even though the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division identified about 1,300 establishments that could fall under the training requirement, said Kerry Koonce, a spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development, whose labor services division oversees the training.

he requirement that at least one bouncer at certain businesses receive training took effect in January 2009. The law's advocates contend that lack of compliance with the training requirement leaves nightclub patrons and bouncers at risk.

The 2008 law was passed after Charles Lovelady, 26, was killed in a scuffle with bouncers at a Des Moines-area bar in 2000.

"Dangerous situations are happening every week," said Joann Hughes, Lovelady's mother, who is also chairwoman of Concerned Citizens for Justice, a Des Moines civil rights advocacy group.
Some state officials said the law is so narrowly written that the training requirement applies to few establishments.

Loopholes and a disconnect between the requirement and local ordinances create opportunities to skip the $50, eight-hour training with no consequences, state documents show.

Among the limitations of the law:

• It applies only to Polk County. The idea was that Polk County would serve as a pilot project that could be used by lawmakers to set up a statewide training system later.
• It applies only to businesses that serve alcohol, charge $5 or more for admittance and have occupancy of 200 or more people. Staff in the state ombudsman's office said the language leaves room for interpretation because cover charges fluctuate with events. That makes it difficult to monitor when a businesses should have trained security staff.

• There are no state or local fines or other penalties for those who ignore the law. "There's really no process for enforcement," said Ruth Cooperrider of the ombudsman's office.
• Neither the state nor local authorities maintain a tracking system to determine whether the training requirement is being met.

• The names of businesses and employees who have taken training are not made public, unlike the names of other state license holders, Koonce said. Because names are not public and because some businesses contract for security with other companies, it's difficult to track violators, the law's advocates say.

Koonce, the state's Workforce Development official, acknowledged the law's imperfections.
"There are actually very few companies that qualify for the law," Koonce said. "And the law didn't set up any type of enforcement, so it doesn't give us the authority to force anybody into training. That's something they would have to fix in another legislative session."

Most businesses - regardless of state requirements - take proactive steps to guard worker and public safety, said Doni DeNucci, chief executive of the Iowa Restaurant Association.
"If they want to find a way to be a bad operator, they will be a bad operator, but we certainly discourage that," DeNucci said.

For businesses that want to follow the law, it's difficult to find information about requirements or where the courses are taught, according to a March memo to lawmakers from the ombudsman's office. According to that memo, some Polk County officials who deal with liquor licenses acknowledged to the ombudsman that they were unaware of the act's requirements.
There's no single central location or tracking system where Polk County officials can quickly determine which establishments should be required to comply with bouncer training, ombudsman staff said.

"Even if a city wanted to enforce it, they would have to do some work to find out what cover is being charged and how many people a particular establishment can hold," said Bert Dalmer, an assistant in the ombudsman's office who wrote the March memo to lawmakers. "It's a difficult proposition to be enforced."
Lawmakers, aware of those problems, approved a bill in 2009 to require businesses in Polk County to include occupancy rates as part of their liquor license applications. As licenses are renewed or approved, it is hoped that more businesses will become aware of the requirement and comply, said Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines.

He said further revisions to the law are likely as lawmakers review the training issues.

West Des Moines resident Nick Long, 31, said he has been refused admittance to several clubs because bouncers say his clothing is inappropriate. Long, who is a friend of the Lovelady family, said his situation is an example of ongoing inequitable treatment of Des Moines nightclub patrons.
"I don't even dress like a young thug," Long said. "I wear the nice jeans, with the nice button-down shirt, nice dress shoes and a nice leather coat, and I still have trouble."

Gerald "Bo" James, a Des Moines-area music and club promoter, took the training and said he believes it's essential for public safety and for helping club or bar owners avoid liability issues. Circumstances like those described by Long could escalate into dangerous situations, he said, and professionalism is required to resolve them.
The training "really has the potential to make the night life better everywhere," he said.