|
Shedding light on fake
IDs
DOORSTAFF in Liverpool City Centre
clubs and bars are being helped to identify false identification used by clubgoers.
They are being issued with ultra violet lights which are effective in
detecting when driving licences, passports and other forms of identification
have been altered or are fakes.
This is an initiative by the City Council's Alcohol and Tobacco Unit who
have been involved with the licensed trade in tackling this issue. They have
received funding from the City Centre Joint Agency Group which brings
together the Police, Council and Citysafe, to deal with safety issues.All door staff who work in the
City Centre's night time economy have now
been trained on how to spot fake ID.
However, there are occasions when even experienced staff fail to distinguish
between genuine and fake IDs. Councillor Emily Spurrell, Mayoral Lead for Community Safety explained:-
"We are making every effort to stop underage drinking and doorstaff are
in the frontline of preventing the under 18s getting access to alcohol.
We know it can be difficult for even experienced members of staff to tell if
some ID is genuine or not.
It is asking a lot of door staff to be able to tell if an older brother or
sister's passport or driving licence has been "borrowed" to get into
a club; especially if the lighting is not particularly good.
And some forged IDs are so convincing that they cannot be easily
distinguished from the real thing; so we want to work with the staff to give
them some practical help
Providing them with the UV lights will help them to do their job more
effectively and without argument. They will easily detect the fakes and
where any other documents have been altered.
Some clubs use equipment such as clubscan, in certain cases this is a
condition of their licence; but this is expensive to install and the UV
lights are a much more cost-effective method. Liverpool City Centre is one
of the safest in the country and being able to identify false IDs is another
step in keeping it that way." |
