Bars to track problem clients

A new system will ensure that troublemakers kicked out of one venue can't
enter another

Jesse Ferreras, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Nightclubs in downtown Vancouver will soon begin using a high-tech system
that will ensure a troublemaker kicked out of one club is barred from all
other venues for the rest of the night.

Most bars and clubs along Granville Street are already using a device that
scans patrons' identification and takes photos of them -- allowing bars to
keep track of problem customers.

But those devices are not linked, meaning someone kicked out of one venue
can simply walk down the street to another.

Barwatch chairman John Teti said an upgrade to the system will soon allow
clubs to begin sharing information on banned patrons.

Virtually all bars and clubs in the Granville entertainment district have
agreed to adopt the new system, he said, and to honour each others' bans.

"If you've been asked to leave a bar for misbehaviour, you will be denied
entry from every bar that night," said Teti. "When you attempt to go to
the other bar, when you put your ID in there, it'll come up with a flag."

Teti said the ban will normally only last for a single night.

But he said it could also be used to keep those convicted of criminal
behaviour in clubs out of downtown venues for longer periods of time -- or
to document a pattern of bad behaviour for the courts.

He said he expects the system to be up and running within the next 30 days.

Teti said the sharing technology has been developed by Vancouver-based
Treoscope Technologies Inc.

The company's website shows it has recently developed what it calls
VelvetRope Connectivity, a system that allows subscribers to view reports
on misbehaving patrons and share that information with other
establishments.

Treoscope could not be contacted to confirm that VelvetRope Connectivity
is the technology being used in Vancouver nightclubs.

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Tim Fanning said police approve of the
plan. He said police share a common goal with nightclubs to maintain
public safety -- both inside the clubs and outside on the streets.

"We support anything that's going to keep people safer," he said.

"If there's people that have caused problems in one place, I think it's
fair that the information is shared among the other nightclubs or bars
that they know that this person or a number of individuals have been a
problem, it's certainly their right."

Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties
Association, raised some concerns about the new system. He said flagging
certain people in various venues could cause problems for them if facts
about their actions are distorted.

As well, he said there are bound to be problems when patrons wish to
challenge decisions that bar them from entering establishments.

Teti said he's confident the new system doesn't violate privacy laws --
because the information is held by a third party, Treoscope, and is not
being used to solicit business from customers.

He also said he doesn't think privacy is much of a concern in the area.

"The entertainment district is not a place you go for privacy," he said.
"There should be absolutely no expectation of privacy."

jferreras@png.canwest.com