Bouncer (doorman)
Bouncers have made increasing use of ..technology such as walkie-talkies and security cameras . Other terms used may be door staff , floor staff , and door supervisor (in the United Kingdom). A security supervisor (also called a head bouncer or cooler ) Security supervisors will often patrol all sections of a venue, resolving potential problems and closely monitoring customer behaviour such as speech, level of alcohol consumption and body language in an attempt to pinpoint potentially dangerous individuals or groups. The man had previously worked as a bouncer before becoming an academic, and while conversant with the milieu, it required some time for him to re-enter bouncing work in a new locality. One of the main ethical issues of the research was the participation of the researcher in violence, and to what degree he would be allowed to participate.The bouncers warnings tended to consist of light taps on the shoulder at first, and then progressed to sterner remonstrations. In the 1930s, bars in the bawdiest parts of Baltimore, Maryland docks hired bouncers to maintain order and eject aggressive patrons. In some countries or regions, bouncers may be required to have extra skills or special licenses and certification for first aid, alcohol distribution, crowd control, or fire safety. In Canada, bouncers have the right to use reasonable force to expel intoxicated or aggressive patrons.
They indicate that male bouncers are respected by some club-goers as the ultimate hard men , while at the same time, these bouncers can also be lightning rods for aggression and macho posturing on the part of obnoxious male customers wanting to prove themselves. In the early 1990s, an Australian government study on violence stated that violent incidents in public drinking locations are caused by the interaction of five factors: aggressive and unreasonable bouncers, groups of male strangers, low comfort (e.g., unventilated, hot clubs), high boredom, and high drunkenness. The controllers actions involved gratuitous aggression, harassment of patrons and provocative behaviour. At least one major ethnographic study also observed bouncing from within, as part of a British project to study violent subcultures.
A bouncer made sure he did . Bouncers in pre-World War I United States were also sometimes used as the guardians of morality. This does not extend to the prospective bouncer himself having to have a reputation for violence - rather a perception was needed that he could deal with it if required.
Bouncers are often required where crowd size, clientèle or alcohol consumption may make arguments or fights commonplace. In the United States, civil liability and court costs related to the use of force by bouncers are the highest preventable loss found within the industry.. and other countries have found similar issues related to the excessive use of force. Mickey was always considerate of the people she bounced; first asking them where they lived and then throwing them in that general direction.
The research indicated that bouncers did not play as large a role .. as expected in the creation of an aggressive or violence prone atmosphere . However, the study did show that ..edgy and aggressive bouncers, especially when they are arbitrary or petty in their manner, do have an adverse effect. The study stated that bouncers: ..have been observed to initiate fights or further encourage them on several occasions. The term later become a low-ranking clergy title. Plautus, in his play Bacchides (written approximately 194-184 BC), mentions a large and powerful doorman / bouncer as a threat to get an unwelcome visitor to leave. Tertullian, an early Christian author living mainly in the 1st century AD, while reporting on the casual oppression of Christians in Carthage, noted that bouncers were counted as part of a semi-legal underworld, amongst other shady characters such as gamblers and pimps. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, US saloon-keepers and brothel madams hired bouncers to remove troublesome, violent, or dead-drunk patrons, and protect the saloon girls and prostitutes.
Many similar decisions taken by a bouncer during the course of a night are also being described as based on experience rather than just personality. Movies often depict bouncers physically throwing patrons out of clubs and restraining drunk customers with headlocks, which has led to a popular misconception that bouncers have (or reserve) the right to use physical force freely. The slang term snake-room was used to describe a ..room off a saloon, usually two or three steps down, into which a bar-keeper or the bouncer could slide drunk lumber-jacks head first through swinging doors from the bar-room. In the late 19th century, bouncers at small town dances and bars physically resolved disputes and removed troublemakers, without worrying about lawsuits.
The research however found that instead of being a part of the occupation, violence itself was the defining characteristic, a culture created around violence and violent expectation . The bouncing culture s insular attitudes also extended to the recruitment process, which was mainly by word of mouth as opposed to typical job recruitment, and also depended heavily on previous familiarity with violence. In practice many bouncers are not well managed in their work, and appear to be given a job autonomy and discretion that they cannot handle well. A 1998 article Responses by Security Staff to Aggressive Incidents in Public Settings in the Journal of Drug Issues examined 182 violent incidents involving crowd controllers (bouncers) that occurred in bars in Toronto, Canada.
In addition to this the private security authourity (The PSA) regulate the security industry (excluding event security) and vet all new applicants before issuing them with a licence. Requirements for bouncers vary from state to state, with some examples being: California: In California, Senate Bill 194 requires any bouncer or security guard to be registered with the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. A bouncer or doorman is an informal term for a security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or other standards.
“Good house”-style brothels “..considered themselves the cream of the crop, and In Wisconsin s lumberjack days, bouncers would physically remove drinkers who were too drunk to keep buying drinks, and thus free up space in the bar for new patrons. When foreign ants venture close, the force of the mandibles is sufficient to throw back the intruder for a significant distance, a defense behaviour which is thought to also protect the guard against physical or chemical injury he might sustain in more direct battle. Some critics have noted that the European Union has assigned the job of being its border security bouncers to various non-EU North African countries like Morocco, Algeria or Libya, who are to turn away refugees (often with severe ill-treatment) before they can reach Europe to request asylum, analogous to a club bouncer turning away undesirable customers. In a similar analogy, some social theorists have expressed the state itself as a form of bouncer which pushes and punches drifters In general: In popular culture: .
This may be encouraged by management adherence to a repressive model of supervision of patrons ( if they play up, thump em ), which in fact does not reduce trouble, and exacerbates an already hostile and aggressive situation. The New Zealand Security Association supports the Hospitality Association of New Zealand s efforts to introduce certification for bouncers, doormen and other people responsible for security at bars and sporting events.
One current provider of training is the British Institute of Innkeeping Awarding Body. In the Republic of Ireland all potential `bouncers` must complete a recognised training course certified by FETAC. The Smart Serve program is also recommended for other staff in bars who have contact with potentially intoxicated patrons, such as bouncers, coat check staff, and valets.
Californians must undertake the Skills Training Course for Security Guards before receiving a security licence. Studies suggest that one of the reasons that some bouncers emphasise physical force is their self image as a strongly masculine group, which requires them to respond to aggression in violent ways.
Both bouncers and supervisors will often act as intermediaries between venue management and law-enforcement or emergency services personnel. In the 1990s and 2000s, increased awareness of the risks of lawsuits and criminal charges (particularly in the United States and industrialised world) have led many bars and venues to train their bouncers to use communication and conflict resolution skills rather than brute force against troublemakers. However, in many countries bouncers have no legal authority to use physical force more freely than any other civilian - meaning they are restricted to reasonable levels of force used in self defence, to eject drunk or aggressive patrons refusing to leave a venue, or when restraining a patron who has committed an offence until police arrive. With civil liability and court costs related to the use of force as the highest preventable loss found within the industry.. (US) According to statistical research in Canada, bouncers are as likely to face physical violence in their work as urban-area police officers.
These guards must also complete a criminal background check, including submitting their fingerprints to the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He/she may also handle customer complaints, improper conduct of staff (especially those in security, but potentially also those with access to money) as well as supervise training of new bouncers and security staff.
Beyond studying the bouncer culture from the outside, the group selected a suitable candidate for covert, long-term research. Various other elements, such as body language or physical looks (muscles, shaved heads) were also described as often expected for entry into bouncing - being part of the symbolic narratives of intimidation that set bouncers apart in their work environment. Training on the job was described as very limited, with the new bouncers being thrown into the deep end - the fact that they had been accepted for the job in the first place including the assessment that they should know what they are doing (though informal observation of a beginner s behaviour was commonplace).
The more impressive bouncers, in the often tense environments they are supposed to supervise, are also often challenged by aggressive males wanting to prove their machismo. In Australia, for example, women comprise almost 20% of the security industry and increasingly work the door as well, using a smile, chat and a friendly but firm demeanor to resolve tense situations. In many countries, a bouncer must be licensed and lacking a criminal record to gain employment within the security/crowd control sector. If the patron refuses to leave, the bouncer can use reasonable force to expel the patron.
Huge bouncers patrolled these venues of vice and roughly ejected anyone who violated the loose rules of decorum by engaging in pick-pocketing, jewellry thieving, or bloody fights. During the 1890s, San Diego had a similarly rough waterfront area and redlight district called the Stingaree , where bouncers worked the door at brothels. In the United Kingdom for example, long-running series of feuds between fan groups like The Blades and groups of bouncers in the 1990s were described by researchers. Bouncers have also been known to be associated with criminal gangs, especially in places like Russia, Hong Kong or Japan, where bouncers may often belong to these groups or have to pay the crime syndicates to be able to operate. Hong Kong also features a somewhat unusual situation where some bouncers are known to work for prostitutes, instead of being their pimps.
It must ensure that it does not serve alcohol which would apparently intoxicate or increase the patron s intoxication. Further courses allow for qualified security personnel to carry batons upon completion of training. New York: In New York State, it is illegal for a bar owner to hire knowingly a felon for a bouncer position; however, the law has a limited value, because bar owners are not required to do background checks on their bouncers. Some types of ant species have evolved a sub-specialisation that has been called a bouncer , and performs a similar function (throwing intruders outside) for its fellows.
Many seem poorly trained, obsessed with their own machismo, and relate badly to groups of male strangers. There were no court costs In the 1880s and 1890s, bouncers were used to maintain order in the The Gut , the roughest part of New York s Coney Island, which was filled with ramshackle groups of wooden shanties , bars, cabarets, fleabag hotels and brothels.
but they may not have a legal right to carry a weapon even if they would prefer to do so. Use of force training programs teach bouncers ways to avoid using force and explain what types of force are considered allowable by the courts. Another strategy used in some bars is to hire smaller, less threatening or female bouncers, because they may be better able to defuse conflicts than large, intimidating bouncers. The group could not fully resolve this issue, as the undercover researcher would not have been able to gain the trust of his peers while shying away from the use of force.
Instead, they spend much of their time guarding the nest opening, their jaws cocked. The training for a door supervisor licence takes 30 hours, and includes issues such as behaviour, conflict management, civil and criminal law, searching and arrest procedures, drug awareness, recording of incidents and crime scene preservation, licensing law, equal opportunities and discrimination, health and safety at work, and emergency procedures.
The six-hour ProTect course will, among other subjects, teach staff to identify conflicts before they become violent, and how to defuse situations without resorting to force. In Ontario, courts have ruled that a tavern owes a twofold duty of care to its patrons. However, many of the more professional security companies (and larger venues with their own dedicated security staff) have noted that the course is insufficient for the specific requirements of a bouncer and provide their own additional training. In the UK, bouncers (called door supervisors ) must hold a license from the Security Industry Authority.
The organisation has been lobbying the New Zealand government to introduce legislation on training requirements for bar security staff. Singapore requires all bouncers to undergo a background check and attend a 5-day National Skills Recognition System course for security staff. As ballroom dancing was often considered as an activity which could lead to immoral conduct if the dancers got too close, some of the more reputable venues had bouncers to remind patrons not to dance closer than nine inches to their partners.
Such scenes were fictionalised in the movie Cabaret. When liberty verges on license and gaiety on wanton delirium, the Bouncer selects the gayest of the gay, and - bounces him! In US Western towns in the 1870s, high-class brothels known as good houses or “parlour houses” hired bouncers for security and to prevent patrons from evading payment.
In some venues, bouncers may have the subjective task of separating the in-crowd from the out-crowd Bouncers may also escort employees (particularly female staff) to and from the venue, and in rare cases may act as bodyguards for VIPs, celebrities, or management within the venue. The increasing availability of affordable and reliable security and safety devices has engendered some changes in the occupation over the decades. The decision to turn certain customers away at the door because of too casual clothing is for example often based on the perception that the person will be more willing to fight (compared to someone dressed in expensive attire).
As part of the study it eventually became clear that bouncers themselves were similarly and constantly weighing up the limits and uses of their participation in violence. The majors of the Australian Dacetine Orectognathus versicolor ants have massive blunt mandible jaws which are of little use to the prey-capture techniques this trap jaw species normally engages in.
This has been upheld in a number of court cases. In Alberta, bar and nightclub security staff will have to take a new, government-run training course on correct bouncer behaviour and skills before the end of 2008. The research also found that the likelihood of such encounters increased (with statistical significance) with the number of years the bouncer had worked in his occupation.
The Oasis club, operated by Max Cohen, hired ..a lady bouncer by the name of Mickey Steele, a six-foot acrobat from the Pennsylvania coal fields. they talk to people (and remind them of the venue rules). However, British research from the 1990s also indicates that a major part of both the group identity and the job satisfaction of bouncers is related to their self image as a strongly masculine person who is capable of dealing with – and dealing out – violence; their employment income plays a lesser role in their job satisfaction.
The association argues that security officers should be ..properly trained professionals, not just a big thug to stand at the door. , decrying the practice of using unlicensed, untrained security staff . The word bouncer was first used in the saloon sense in an 1883 newspaper article which stated that The Bouncer is merely the English chucker out .
The more expensive, higher-class brothels were called “parlour houses”, and they were run most decorously , and the best of food and drink was served. To maintain the high-class atmosphere at these establishments, male patrons were expected to act like gentlemen; ..if any customer did or said anything out of line, he was asked to leave. The Smart Serve certification program encourages bars to keep Incident Reporting Logs, to use as evidence if an incident gets to court. In New Zealand, there is no national-level regulation of bouncers as of 2006.
In the main bar in one Iowa town, ..there were many quarrels, many fights, but all were settled on the spot. Some clubs also require their bouncers to screen clients based on race or cultural group Bouncers can also be responsible for collecting an entry fee, or cover , and checking for identification (especially in regard to the legal age of customers for entry and alcohol consumption).
As well, it must take positive steps to protect patrons and others from the dangers of intoxication. Regarding the second requirement of protecting patrons, the law holds that customers cannot be ejected from your premises if doing so would put them in danger In Ontario, bartenders and servers have to have completed the Smart Serve Training Program, which teaches them to recognise the signs of intoxication. First, the patron must be asked to leave the premises.
Some of them appear to regard their employment as giving them a licence to assault people. Prostitutes worked at the area s 120 bawdy houses in small rooms, paying a fee to the procurer who usually was the bouncer or protector of the brothel.
Historical references also suggest that the doorman function of guarding a place and selecting who can have entry to it (the stereotypical task of the modern bouncer) could at times be a honorific and evolve into a relatively important position. The significance of the doorman as the person allowing (or barring) entry is found in a number of Mesopotamian myths (and later in Greek myths descended from them), including that of Nergal overcoming the seven doormen guarding the gates to the Underworld. In 1 Chronicles 26 of the Old Testament, the Levitical Temple is described as having a number of gatekeepers - amongst their duties are protect (it is noted that some administrative function is still present in today s bouncing in the higher position of the supervisor). The Romans had a position known as the Ostiarius (doorkeeper), initially a slave or other such inferior personage, who guarded the door, and sometimes ejected unwanted people from the house whose gate he guarded. Bouncer subculture is strongly influenced by perceptions of honour and shame, a typical characteristic of groups that are constantly in the public eye. The same research has also indicated that the decisions made by bouncers, while seeming haphazard to an outsider, often have a basis in rational logic.
Hitler surrounded himself with a number of former bouncers such as Christian Weber In early Nazi Germany, some bouncers in underground jazz clubs were also hired to screen for Nazi spies, because jazz was considered a degenerate form of music by the Nazi party. Bouncers also often come into conflict with football hooligans, due to the tendency of groups of hooligans to congregate at pubs and bars before and after games. However, the earlier history of the occupation suggests that the stereotype of bouncers as rough, tough, physical enforcers has indeed been the case in many countries and cultures throughout history.
She was succeeded by a character known as Machine-Gun Butch who was a long-time bouncer at the club . In the Weimar Republic in the Germany of the 1920s and early 1930s, doormen protected venues from the fights caused by Nazis and other potentially violent groups (such as Communists). In the case of the British research project, the legally required licensing as a bouncer was also found to be expected by employers before applicants started the job (and as licensing generally excluded people with criminal convictions, this kept out some of the more unstable violent personalities). Although a common stereotype of bouncers is that of the thuggish brute, a good club security staff member requires more than just physical qualities such as strength and size: The best bouncers don’t bounce anyone..
In many countries, federal or state governments have taken steps to professionalise the industry by requiring bouncers to have training, licensing, and/or a criminal records background check. A bouncer s primary task is to keep underage, intoxicated, aggressive, and/or otherwise disqualified individuals from entering an establishment. Hong Kong police have noted that due to the letter of the law, they sometimes had to charge the bouncer for illegally extorting the women when the usually expected dominance situation between the sex worker and her protector was in fact reversed. In the 1990s and 2000s, a number of bouncers have written tell-all books about their experiences on the door.
The study indicated that in 12% of the incidents the bouncers had good responses, in 20% of the incidents, the bouncers had a neutral response; and in 36% of the incidents, the bouncers .. responses were rated as bad—that is, the crowd controllers enhanced the likelihood of violence but were themselves not violent. Finally, .. in almost one-third of incidents, 31 per cent, the crowd controllers responses were rated as ugly.
