NO:

MOST nightspots here do not send their bouncers for police screening, said Mr Frederick Dodwell, entertainment director of The Arena at Clarke Quay.

Mr Dodwell, who was born here but grew up in Vancouver and has been involved in the nightlife industry for 17 years, said these clubs do their own checks before hiring.

He said this was mainly for three reasons - police screening was not compulsory, they felt their checks were sufficient, and they did not consider bouncers as security personnel.

He said their security manager takes note of the credentials of all potential bouncers.

'Our bouncers need not be big and look intimidating. The club looks for a friendly face, an approachable personality and a polite demeanour.

'With a smiling face, one can tackle most situations without having to resort to fighting,' he said.

Mr Dodwell felt their checks have worked so far.

'We have had no major incidents so far. Some time ago, two customers grabbed one of the female patrons.

'She complained and after confirming her story, our bouncers politely and calmly took the men out and told them to leave,' he said.

Mr Suhardi Huang, operations manager of The Pump Room at Clarke Quay, said their bouncers do not undergo security screening as they are mainly trained to do crowd control.

But he said their own checks are thorough. Mr Huang said the nightspot, which has 11 male bouncers, does not receive walk-in applicants, and bouncers are referred by their security manager or security staff.

'That way, we know who they are. The main quality we look for is customer service.

'We do not condone violence and if any patron gets unruly, the bouncers tell them politely to leave. If the situation gets worse, the bouncers are supposed to call the management for help and not handle it themselves.'

While he thinks security screening for bouncers is a good idea, he is not sure that all nightspot operators would be open to the idea because each nightspot might want to observe its own rules for its own 'unique experience'.

Crowd control

Ms Carol Anne Wah, group marketing and communications manager of Imaginings, which manages clubs like Balaclava and Wala Wala, also said their bouncers do not undergo police screening because they act mainly as crowd controllers, not security guards.

'We look for pleasant-looking people who are well-built and preferably trained in self-defence. It would be a plus point if the applicant speaks well as our clientele can be quite discerning so all staff will have to be able to handle comments and remarks in a tactful and positive manner,' she said.

Ms Amanda Ng, marketing manager of Attica, said their bouncers do not undergo police screening as they have their own training programme and the club's security manager does reference checks on them.

The club has five to 13 bouncers on duty every night.

Ms Ng said these steps have been adequate so far, though she admitted screening bouncers like security guards may help weed out those with criminal records.

YES:

TWO nightspots whose bouncers undergo police screening felt such screenings were necessary.

Ms Mari Muramoto, Zouk's marketing and public relations representative, said: 'This is because our bouncers' main duty is ensuring the safety and well-being of our patrons.'

Both outlets also felt such screening could help cut down on 'ugly instances', where bouncers resort to thuggish tactics - like beating up pub patrons - in the name of maintaining peace.

St James Holdings, which manages and owns St James Power Station, Bar None, The Living Room and The Bellini Grande at Clarke Quay, engages a security consultancy firm run by ex-cops to help hire its security staff and screen them before they are accepted and sent for police screening.

Mr Andrew Ing, St James' chief operating officer, said: 'We work closely with the police so this is something we do to ensure we have hired the right type of people.'

St James has 50 security officers, of whom only one is female.

Said Mr Ing: 'We need to have a female security officer to handle matters which are inconvenient for male officers to handle, like checking the female toilets.'

But Mr Ing said the police screening has its limitations.

'Having a criminal record does not mean the person cannot perform the duties of a security officer,' he said.

'The screening will also not determine if someone is service-oriented and suitable for our industry.'

In-house courses

Zouk puts its bouncers through in-house courses after they are screened by the police.

Ms Muramoto said: 'Once they are cleared, they must also complete and pass the Workforce Development Authority-licensed courses and Workforce Skills Qualification System courses.'

These courses teach them how to conduct patrols, provide guard services and handle security incidents.

Ms Muramoto added that its security officers and bouncers also have to undergo in-house training programmes on how to handle intoxicated patrons, crowd control and disputes.

This article was first published in The New Paper on 15 Oct 2008.