by Ewan Turney
Police pragmatism has averted a national doorstaff crisis that could have led to thousands of club and bar closures, according to Bar Entertainment and Dance Association (BEDA) chief executive Jon Collins
The final official discretionary period for all doorstaff to be Security Industry Authority (SIA) registered passed on Monday in London, with the area still around 4,000 short of the total required. However, Collins believes that police will continue to use a common sense approach. "They know on the ground who the good operators are and where to cut some slack and equally who the bad ones are and where to take a tougher line. If you are in the system, police can take a pragmatic approach, but if you have nothing they can rightly throw you off the door now. I am hoping they will continue to encourage compliance rather than take scalps," he said.
The early period of the SIA regime was characterised by a war of words with the trade over putting back the deadline, making the process more streamlined and the numbers of doorstaff required. The SIA put the figure at 46,000, the trade at 100,000. At present, 30,040 applications have been received. It is now believed that the SIA has admitted 75,000 is a more realistic figure.
Summing up the SIA approach, Collins said: "The first period saw tensions running high and police threats over closures but maybe some operators needed that stick approach. It was a definite tactic to cajole them into line. It is now calmer and the police have been very pragmatic."
However, SIA spokesman Robert Buxton warned: "We have said all along that venues that need doorstaff must have SIA registered staff if they want to open. You can't open with staff when you don't know who they are. It is for the good of public safety."