The research project has been sponsored by Diageo, Heineken, AB-Inbev and Stonegate Pub Company and is expected to be completed before the end of the year before publication in early 2013.
PASS Director Kate Winstanley said: “For many pubs, bars and clubs security staff are the gate keepers that determine whether someone is admitted to the premises. Operators want to be entirely confident that door staff do not admit people who are underage; but equally that they give a warm welcome to all legitimate custom.
“This research will seek to understand the pressures that door staff face when deciding whether to allow a customer into a bar. How effectively do licensees brief their door staff on company admission policies and does the message sink in? Are PASS cards easy to recognise on a busy evening? Are security staff aware that PASS is recommended by both the Home Office and Police as the preferred method for providing proof of age?
“Businesses need all the legitimate trade they can get, and young people with legitimate cards need them to be accepted. It’s in all our interests to ensure that visiting a pub or a club is an enjoyable experience. This research will help us to ensure that they can verify the age of customers effectively and with minimum inconvenience to people who are over eighteen.”