SIA criticised over support of ID cards

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has been rapped for a half-hearted acceptance of the licensed trade's Proof Of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) identity card.

PASS secretary Robert Humphreys claimed the SIA's lukewarm response meant doormen at too many venues still refused to recognise it.

"The SIA is an intractable challenge for us. They say they support it, but through clenched teeth. I feel the association does not seem to communicate with its members once they have got their qualification badge," he said.

"There is ignorance and resistance to PASS from some doorstaff especially at venues where the management does not actively back the scheme," he added.

Humphreys said if youngsters with the card were turned away from clubs and bars it undermined the whole scheme.

"If a card is presented with the official PASS hologram it should be acceptable," he insisted. Humphreys said too many youngsters were forced to embark on a night out with their passport or driving licence, which many venues still insisted on.

"But people do not want to lose them on a night out, and one third of 18-year-olds do not possess a driving licence or a passport," he revealed.

Three million PASS cards, with a hologram almost impossible to forge, have so far been issued since the scheme was launched four years ago.

"It's fewer than we would like so it's important these cards are seen to be working and acceptable," he said.

An SIA spokesman said it was down to individual licensees and pub operators which customers they admitted to their premises. "There are several different designs of cards bearing the PASS hologram, which might be confusing to some doormen and licensees," he said.