Interdiction

Last night I met a security consultant for various club and hotels. His job was to rid them of drug dealers and underage patrons. It would be fair to assume that along with alcohol abuse both issues are the major problem in these establishments. But the widespread use of ice was the biggest concern for my passenger, with his team banning three dealers in the past week.

The previous night they had busted a patron smoking a pipe of ice in a toilet cubicle. "How did you know," I asked, "can you smell ice being smoked ?" "No, ice doesn’t smell, but recently this club installed..." "Smoke detectors ?" "Nup, glass doors on the cubicles." The glass is semi-opaque, affording some privacy but not concealment.

When the ice smoker emerged from the cubicle he refused to empty his pockets. "Well, you either do it for us or do it for the police," the security told him. Of course he then complied. The drugs and pipe were confiscated and he was barred from the club. He was lucky.

Underage patrons are not so lucky, if they’re silly enough to use their own names. Their forged identities are confiscated and handed over to the police. I related how some kids are obtaining sophisticated false identities like drivers licences and passports in Asia, whilst holidaying with their parents. Apparently, a fake passport can be obtained in Thailand for around twenty dollars.

He knew of this and suggested that most door security staff aren’t properly trained in spotting fake identities. "If you know what to look for it’s not too hard," he said. "With some ID’s you just flick the corner of the card and lift the false laminate. When you pull it away it raises the last two numbers of the forged birth year." However he conceded that with modern copying and printing technology it’s a never ending battle. An old story.

Comments

[steve at the pub]

Some underage girls use their big sister's drivers licence. The photo on which is often much more of a likeness than is mine.

Lord knows how many of these go undetected by me. Those we do pick up are by chance, usually by being recognised by a staff who knows them, a tipoff from one of their adversaries, or through hearing them addressed as 'Jane' and the person who checked the ID remembers "Her ID said 'Dora'".

When confronted they gleefully hand over the driver's licence (not realising they will never see it again) and happily quote the birthdate shown on the licence, the zodiac sign belonging to that birthdate, the address, etc etc.

Providing a specimen signature to match the one on the licence is what brings them undone.

And doesn't the little fluttery-eyelashed sweetie of 10 seconds ago turn into her true slattern self when she realises she is caught.

Big sister's driving licence is posted to Liquor Licencing Divsion's office on the coast (wonder if big sister gets it back?)

The local Police get the (by now) screaming underage feral tomcat, and occassionally one or two of her friends who haven't had the good sense to keep their oar out of it all.

[Dataceptionist]

I have two sisters, and we've always looked nothing alike when it comes to pictures on licenses. That said, I change my hair so often my picture rarely looks like me anyway.
I never snuck in anywhere when I was younger, the idea terrified me. :P

[James]

Nice that you got to meet what seems to be an honest pub security worker... Unfortunately most of the dealing in Sydney clubs is operated and monitored by the security staff themselves!