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Cardiff Council rejects mandatory ID for revellers

Cardiff clubs will not be made to scan the ID of visitors
Article | | By Michael Yong
Cardiff City hall
Via NeilT on Flickr
Cardiff Council have rejected calls from South Wales Police to introduce a condition requiring clubs to scan their patrons's ID.
 
South Wales Police suggested last October that people who want entry into venues with the ID system will have to allow the club to scan their driver’s licence and in some cases, fingerprints.
 
The licenced premises or third party system provider will have a right to store this information, either for the police’s use to identify potential criminals or for marketing purposes.
 
Liberal Democrat councillor Ed Bridges, chairman of Cardiff Council ‘s licensing committee, called this a “short cut” by the police in Cardiff Council last night. He said: “Our concern was about the principle that as a matter of routine, Cardiff Council will agree information being scanned and held by South Wales Police and licensed premises operators.”
 
He went on to explain that this was not about checking the identity of people and picking out underage drinkers, but “the storing of the information which is a concern.”
 
He said: “If an adult wants to go for a drink they should be free to do so.
 
“Of course clubs are in favour of it. They will always want to have the contact details of their patrons so they can pester them with promotions. It is a business imperative for them.”
 
He insisted the council should not be “introducing a blanket condition”.
 
Independent councillor Jayne Cowan said the council should be helping the police to do their jobs by introducing such a condition instead of hindering it. She said: “If we can convict one rapist or one murderer, then the scanning system, whatever the company, will be fully justified.”
 
She called the motion “disrespectful to the South Wales Police”. She said personal details are stored in nearly every aspect of normal entertainment, such as booking a seat in a cinema and in social media.
 
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show alcohol-related deaths are at their highest in Wales.
 
Licensing officer Sergeant Scott Lloyd said: “We have always agreed with the decision made by Cardiff Council that scanning of identification should not be a standard licensing condition.
 
“South Wales Police only requests such systems are considered as a licensing condition when appropriate and necessary.
 
“By scanning identification, such as driving licences and passports, we believe that these systems can contribute to reducing and detecting crime by, for example, changing the mindset of potential troublemakers entering a venue, preventing underage drinking, and identifying offenders.
 
“One club which implemented the system voluntarily on November 3 has had a 100 per cent reduction in violent crime.
 
“In addition the system has prevented 284 people using another persons ID in an attempt to gain entry into the venue and flagged up 20 underage customers using identification which showed them to be underage.
 
“These systems just like CCTV, road closures, and targeted policing are just one of many tools available to keep Cardiff safe.”
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