Mandatory ID Checks, Banned From All Policies
Mandatory ID checks and implementing a “banned from one, banned from all” policy for bars was supported during a meeting with bar owners, Public Safety Minister Michael Dunkley said today [July 19] in the House of Assembly.
Minister Dunkley said, “I am pleased to advise that this meeting did take place and with approximately 30 stakeholders connected with liquor licensed premises, we met on Wednesday afternoon.
“A cross section of this sector was represented including community club presidents, bar and restaurant owners as well as nightclub proprietors. The dialogue was open and direct and as I have indicated in the media, extremely productive.
“What emerged was a consensus on the need to keep the lines of communication open within the industry itself. There is a need for more effective information sharing to ensure that a silo mentality does not lead to the ruin of one business over another and more importantly, the promotion of venues that are unsafe for the enjoyment of patrons generally.
“I was pleased to be joined by my colleague the Junior Minister of Public Safety, Senator Baron, who sits in another place. The willingness to share experiences and suggest solutions on the part of those in attendance bodes well for our future plans.
“From the meeting the Ministry has determined that the following issues had general support and require some immediate attention:
- Implementing a “banned from one, banned from all” policy for some licensed premises,
- Mandatory ID checks at licensed premises
- Stronger enforcement of bans already in place [including more workable legislation apart from the Summary Offences Act 1926]
- Standardized training for security guards to ensure common standards across the industry, and
- Better sharing of information between businesses in conjunction with the Police
Minister Dunkley continued, “The policies in this area require some work to ensure we get it right the first time and so during the recess the Ministry will be isolating best practice for the implementation of these and other initiatives. Where legislation is required, we expect to bring that for the consideration of this Honourable House in the fall Session.
“This engagement of the various sectors of the community is a deliberate policy objective of this Government. The success of things like the Inter-Agency Gang Task Force and the Gun Bounty Programme has come from the opening of clear lines of communication for community partners.
“This Government remains committed to engaging all relevant stakeholders in meaningful dialogue. The next phase of this engagement will involve meeting with security service providers to work with them on a standardized programme of training for security guards promoting common standards across the industry.
“Honourable Members will recall that the substantive Act was passed by the Legislature some time ago. The Regulations must now be addressed so that we can ensure that security guards are well trained and can themselves operate in safe environments.
“Honourable Members will have seen the recent announcement of the Second Quarter Crime Statistics by the Commissioner of Police. Those numbers when taken with the increased feeling of neighbourhood safety in Bermuda are encouraging. Things are moving in the right direction.
As the Commissioner said, “Bermuda’s collaborative efforts over the past several years are bearing fruit now”.
“We all have a part to play and we are all in this together,” concluded the Minister.
What you need to do is bann the liquid poison itself.because thats whats really destroying us in the black community..along with all the homosexuals.
there is a useful 4 letter word…it starts with S,has H and I and ends with T…
you are sooooooooooooo full of it!
Does this apply for the Rugby Classic too !!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAO
Destroying the black community and the homosexuals? I guess I’m ok then.
I think he ment liquor and homosexuals are destroying the black community which I disagree its us as black people that are destroying ourselves.
Rule 1) Bouncers need to stop trying to figure out if someone “looks” older than 18 before they ID them. They should be automatically taught to demand ID if the individual appears to me under 35? This way there is NO question about the persons age.
Ban from all…guess where they’ll be instead…on a wall, feeling segregated from the community for one possible mistake while being inebriated.
You old bermudians make me sick when you forget about your life as a young male/female; not everything happens as planned.
There should be a three strike policy and/or some sort of scaled chart. Obviously someone who gets in a fight should not be seen in the same light as one who stabbed a person.
This needs to be understood that kids will be kids.
And guess who gets the “ID Checks”; all the young men…the young girls get in without issue nowadays! They are quite the regular in places…check it for yourself on a Tuesday night (beerpong?)
Yes, and these “kids who will be kids” need to learn that there are consequences to their actions. These kids can kill. They can disfigure and injure. They will still get arrested. The law still exists. Haven had my share of “that was soooo far out of character” incidences, I understand how easy it is to do things that can have lasting effects. But consequences are still consequences no matter how out of character an action is. Some sort of standard has to be implemented to put it in peoples’ minds that this behavior is not tolerated so that hopefully, they are less likely to act in that manner. And we all know how easy a fight can turn into a stabbing. There was a grace period or second chance system based on the club/bouncers’ decision. But people have pushed things too far. Going to a club can actually be dangerous depending on the crowd.
By the way, I’m a mid-20s female. I’m on the second half of the decade where mistakes can be made, but the expectation is I figure it out fast, learn from others’ experiences, and follow the rules because I’m too old not to understand. I know the boundaries of acceptable social behavior. I expect others my age to know them as well. We all want to have a good time so just behave.
Um! Alcohol is not for KIDS. If they want to drink at 18 they should act like they’re 18 not like a KID.
I’d like to see just how they ,the bar people,bouncers,etc are going to enforce this…does anyone really think that they have time to enter all your details in some data base so others will check?..even if they did…do you really think the person will stand there and let you keep his/her ID?…No!…it will simply start more trouble!
DREAM ON!…it’s NEVER going to happen.
Banned from one place go home.cool off,there’s always another time,bar.
Learn your lesson and behave in someone’s premises.
They wouldn’t have a problem enforcing this if POLICE did their job & helped out. If bps don’t want to get in the mix allow bouncers tasers so they can zap these punks when they act up.
In New York or Toronto these punks wouldn’t dare mess with a bouncer because the bouncers would mess them up.
Ok, so you engaged stakeholders in this dialogue… But I missed the point or the purpose of the idea of banning underage kids. What are you aiming to prevent? If it’s underage drinking what about checking IDs at grocery/liquor stores. That’s an alternative for kids, I guess that was mistakenly forgotten. Oh and kids are not the only foolish ones that act out with alcohol in their system, to be noted.
Also if you, Dunkley, cared, how about banning cigareetes. I am sick of the obnoxious smell. This sort of pollution is harming us all. The smell of fresh air is rare walking on one’s lunch break.
Anyway, if the attention is to drugs and alcohol abuse, it might be just that difficult, hey bermudians love to drink. Bring back sparkys and belly busters, or something, hopefully the new young people can find it fun..
Good points.
What’s good for the goose…
Banned from all will not last too long, as soon as the numbers start to get killed off then they’ll start offering exemptions to folks. You know for a fact that if a person gets banned from Club A but is best friends with owners of Club B that he will still be able to get into Club B with no problems…
If you have ever worked as a bar tender or bouncer you quickly learn who the true problem guys are, the ones that consistently become violent and difficult when drinking.
I don’t think the intention here is to ban everybody that gets kicked out of a bar for a single fight or being drunk etc. I believe they are looking at more serious offences like use of knives, serious assault, theft, hitting a woman etc… like the vicious assault of an innocent male by three men at Docksiders a few weeks ago by a few gangsters just looking to start trouble. These are the guys that should be banned from everywhere.
and how is a single fight any different. The results are the same.
A scuffle in a bar the ends with no damage to the property and without injury to either individual, no weapons used, and where the two involved agree to go their separate ways is very different from what these punks did to the guy at Docksiders months ago. It was a disgusting act of unprovoked violence where three guys took turns kicking a defenseless man in the head and face while he was down and out. Picture Rodney King, maybe that will help you see the difference.
Very different from a typical bar scuffle which usually ends with a bit of pushing and words before being separated and escorted out without incident.
Guess it does not matter to you “Doesn’t”.
Oh well.
we all now bermuda has now become more so divided in the who has and has not! This is simple a form of keeping people of dark skin out of town !mark this the beginning of new getthos and disturbences island wide when people stay home and give byob parties bringinging real esta further down for the well to do to expel the dark skin people from hfrom the island and buy cheap under company names and thrust ! Should a crime be down in one bar why punish in all ! Bar tenders have a responsibility to know who to serve or not and so do bouncers ! Ill plan dunkley and all you bar owners that will cry poverty in the winter months !
to add to the above not to say that all of us of dark skin males are trouble makers ! Because nothing would be further from the thruth i have being witness of previous problems from all races being an ex bartentender at a popular very mixed club! How ever ! If you read between the lines when one is at our home country at some point problems do arise and how long will the ban be some sailers come looking for trouble when they drink and become rude then they leave and only those of us locals get punished ! I agree with a yearly point system we must protect
our tourism but we must not take away the enjoyment of all ! When a crime is committed it should be dealt with by the courts on an indiviual basis as it and has been our past with both governments ! Some times the dislike of someone by an indiviual wether it be bar tender ´bouncer or bar staff can ruin someone´ś live for petty jealously or a petty misunderstanding!
bad grammar on cell please xcuse trying fairness for all !
They need to raise the drinking age to 21.
I have lived in the States for the last 20 yrs – and you get carded here for everything to do with alcohol and tobacco!! If you don’t look at least 30 yrs old then you have to produce your drivers license ID in bars, clubs stores etc!!
The drinking age here is 21 yrs of age – but that still does not stop a lot of idiots from causing trouble, because a lot of these “dummies” are NOT mature enough to handle their booze!! I guess it’s the same in BDA!!!
The big problem in the States is the fact that people carry “guns” as well and use them!!!
It’s because of the age restriction in place that so many kids binge when they get the chance. Europe has much more relaxed laws and its seldom a problem.
The more accessible something is, the less the thrill.
I’m all for I.D checks but the ‘banned from one banned from all for some establishments’ confuses me.. Either your banned from all bars or your not and it is silly to ban someone from ALL bars unless their underage. Actually would that even be legal??
Yes it is legal. It is a privately owned establishment, just open to the public. No different from one MEF restaurant saying that they no longer accept your checks, because you have a history of bouncing checks at one of their other restaurants. Very different things agree, and maybe not the best example, but I trust you see my point.
The concept of “carding” is all very well. However, there is nothing more illogical and irritating when travelling than being expected to bring your travel documents with you to bars, clubs or concert venues ! What happens if you mislay your passport (pulling it out at each place you go) or worse, they are stolen in a crowded place !!
For the benefit of our tourists, I suggest if this is implemented, they introduce a free tourist ID card which someone can get issued on presentation of a valid gov I.D. Or at least accept drivers licences from tourists. A similar one should be available for locals without drivers licenses.
I.D checks across the board?how about liquor shops also??Hotels etc..Give it during the winter months when not much tourists here?then you would see what happens??
I am all for the mandatory I.D. checks, maybe the children will stay at home where they should be. How about raise the drinking age to 21? Yes I hung out, yes I drank b4 the age of 18, but I also knew my limit, never overdid it, because I was scared of my parents finding out that I was drinking underage. Some of these children nowadays do not know their limit and do not have parents they are scared of. Also the peer pressure is crazy. Are there gonna be consequences for the adults who are caught buying alcohol for these children?