Privacy fears over moves to scan and ban drinkers at 'high-risk' venues

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

Privacy fears over moves to scan and ban drinkers at 'high-risk' venues

Police hope to keep bikies and criminals out of clubs using scanners that would help enforce entry bans of up to 12 months

Helen Davidson
theguardian.com, Thursday 19 September 2013 04.00 EDT

Privacy advocates are concerned about moves to force patrons of venues in Sydney's Kings Cross to have their identification scanned and stored, under new legislation before the NSW parliament.

The scanners would be used to monitor and enforce entry bans of up to 12 months for people who have been charged or found guilty of a serious indictable offence involving alcohol-related violence. Police in the area plan to use the bill to keep bikies and criminals out of local venues, Fairfax has reported.

The bill will enforce ID scanning on entry at 35 places considered "high risk" – with names, dates of birth, addresses and photographs stored for up to 30 days.

Information can be stored for more than 30 days if relating to a long-term ban or at the request of the commissioner of police. It cannot be transferred outside Australia, except to New Zealand.


Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/19/privacy-scan-nightclub-patrons-sydney

[blkmusclmachine]

1. The tactics of a burgeoning POLICE STATE, here and abroad

New World Order

[Downwinder]

2. Shouldn't 'high-risk' venues include football matches?

Think the scanning lines at airports are bad.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. There's more alcohol-related violence in bars, clubs and city centres at night (nt)

[dipsydoodle]

5. Where I am ID scanners are obligatory with some licences.

Example of breach here : Watford's Paparazzi pair Richard Valentine and Alison Brown convicted after licence breach http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/10569179.Paparazzi_pair_convicted_after_licence_breach/

As far as I'm aware the stored information is used to help determine who was where in the event of an incident. Its also used in connection with specific licence age limits i.e. 18 and over, 21 and over , 25 and over and 31 and over.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. A licence for 31 and over?

Wow, I've never heard of that before. What kind of place gets that restriction?

[dipsydoodle]

7. Yes.

They are now extremely restrictive here in Watford on issuing new licences at all. There are however processes under which licences can be reviewed after they've been issued using specialist lawyers.

In actual fact that only material effect the age restrictions have is with regard to exactly who can sing or play live music and which organised parties can be held in those venues.

I use this gaff : http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/10490022.New_nightclub_in_town_centre_granted_licence/
Not sure why they refer to it as a night club.

[dipsydoodle]

10. More here by sheer coincidence from today

Hertfordshire Constabulary oppose Paparazzi nightclub's licence change http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/10686790.Police_oppose_nightclub___s_licence_change/

Ref to Herts Police blocking the application conveys to me a licence won't be issued at all. That's based on the sheer length of time it took my pal to get his licence back here despite actual support, as opposed to disapproval in any form , by the same police , based on a complete absence of problems in his last pub in LB Barnet.

I gather some are referred to as nightclubs because they're open until 3am or at least were. As I'm not into late nights and crap disco music I've never been in any of them.

Completely off topic :

If by any chance you're into what I would term "proper live music" this listing covers the whole of the UK including obviously your own area: http://foaotmad.org.uk/wordpress/news/ Foaotmad is abb of Friends of Old Time American Music and Dance.
The dance bit really only refers to smallish groups of Appalachian cloggers / flatfooters across the UK.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. 31 still surprises me

25 I can just about see - I had a look, and I found an example not far from me of a licence for an over 25 piano bar, where there had previously been a rowdy bar that had multiple convictions. But it's no often you get people saying the problem is those young whipper-snapper 30 year olds ...

[d_r]

3. wait until they start using it for ad placement

[Jackpine Radical]

8. "Bikies?" I wonder if Helen has a twin brother named Harley.

[gopiscrap]

9. why don't you just ban alcohol sales at sporting events....

oops, I forgot, alcohol raises too much revenue.