Werribee’s busiest pubs and nightclubs are uniting in a bid to bring an end to drunken feuds and incidents.
The Park Hotel and Mynt Lounge have both installed Scantek, a system that scans every patron’s ID and flags people who have been banned at other venues.
Park Hotel owner Nick Christou, who installed the system about a week ago, said it would create a local network that would make it more difficult for troublemakers to continue drinking once they had been kicked out of a venue.
“This is all about providing a safer environment,” Mr Christou said.
He said his business was very proactive about security issues, and trouble-making customers facing expulsion found that “challenging”.
The technology is used to scan any kind of ID, including passports and keypasses, and alerts door staff when someone has previously been removed or refused entry at any other business that uses the same system.
Information is removed after 28 days, but permanent bans remain in the system.
Mynt Lounge owner Adam Toffolon said the system would encourage more sensible drinking in the area.
“Venues have got a lot of power now,” he said.
“Police involvement in these kinds of things doesn’t have as much of an impact as saying to someone that they will be banned from 20 to 30 different venues throughout Melbourne – 90 to 95 per cent of problems we have can be stopped at the door.”
Both men said that while they had very few violent incidents at their venues, they felt they had a duty of care to the community.
