Club and bar owners are not
big fans when it comes to making a call to their local police department every
time an incident occurs in their venue. This is why they hire Bouncers.
But what if the security staff is overwhelmed by the amount of patrons in the
venue, or deadly weapons are involved, is it now the time to make that call to
the police?
- Many club owners refuse to call the police
because they believe that:
- 1.
It's a waste of the police department's time.
- 2.
It's a negative mark against them or their venue.
- 3.
It's the venue's responsibility, due to the fact that the employees
and patrons are their responsibility.
- 4.
Too many calls made to the police department is an indication that
the venue has too many problems.
While these are the top reasons why club owners avoid calling
the police when an incident occurs, not one of them is a good reason not to make
the call.
Most local police departments encourage club and bar owners to
call them on incidents that the venue may need assistance with. Calling
the police to your venue to ask an undesirable patron to leave the premises when
you have your own security staff is not unheard of. Or asking if officers
could stand in front of the venue during closing time for a display of police
presence.
With that being said, calls
made to the police department are reported and documented as this policy and
normal procedure. However, are excessive they could be looked at as
annoying or time taken away from another and more meaningful official police
business. Don't be annoying. We recommend that you get to know your local police
department. From the officers who may enter your venue during a normal
beat patrol, to the dispatcher or the watch commander. Introducing
your venue and asking what can you or your club can do to make their job easier
is a great ice breaker.
Some venues are known to offer
discounts off of food or waive the cover charge to neighboring businesses.
This also is not a bad way to introduce your venue to the local police
department.
So what does all this mean?
If your venue is handling unwanted incidents in a responsible and professional
manner, then it's acceptable to call the police when you foresee that you're not
able to.
When your local police
department recognizes that your venue is in the community to have a respectable
business, you will soon find out that calling the police will be a call that is
appreciated.
An
emergency number list near a telephone with the
following information should be posted and accessible to all
employees.
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LOCAL EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
EMERGENCY: 911
LOCAL POLICE:
Front Desk:
_____________________________
Watch Commander:
_______________________
Dispatch:
______________________________
LOCAL FIRE
DEPARTMENT: ______________________________
FIRE MARSHALL:
_______________________
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