Most date rape victims ‘are made helpless by drink and not drugs’

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Title – Most date rape victims ‘are made helpless by drink and not drugs’
Source – Daily Mail
Date – 16th November 2006

Excessive consumption of alcohol is still the overwhelming contributing factor to so many problems faced by those working within the security industry and licensed retail sector. In recent years the threat of date rape drugs being used has added to the concerns of those working within the sector. Most will have heard the phrase “I think my drink has been spiked” when dealing with intoxicated individuals and many will know this can often be an excuse rather then a reason.

But can we really afford to ignore a situation when an accusation like that has been made? Not if we want to continue to impress that the security industry is one where professionalism and customer care have been made a priority. But although every situation has to be dealt with on its merit, we must learn from our own experience and take on board the facts rather then the hype.

In this study only 10 out of 120 cases of 'Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault' (DFSA) involved any kind of date rape drug, but 119 had consumed alcohol. There were 11 other cases where the results were not proved either way. So even in the worst case scenario in this study only 17.5% of actual DFSA victims showed any sign of “date rape drugs”. However 99% showed signs of having consumed alcohol and a third of these were over three times over the drink drive limit.

We can clearly see from this report that alcohol is still the overwhelming substance involved in DFSA and those of us working within the security industry and licensed retail sector must ensure that we consider the consequences of binge and excessive drinking. This process starts at the door when customers come into our venues and continues when they buy drinks at the bar, follows on when customers use our facilities such as the dance floor or toilets and doesn’t end when they have left our venues, but only when they are safely on their way to their next destination. From start to finish we have a responsibility towards them and a duty of care. To carry out our responsibilities all staff need training and not just the Door Supervisors. The days of bar staff filling customers up on alcohol and Door Supervisors throwing them out once full, is gone and the age of accepting responsibility throughout is upon us.

It may be concluded from this report that alcohol could be considered as one of the drugs covered by the catch-all 'date rape drugs' and in fact be the most prolific drug used. Drink spiking may seem to be in some circumstances a prank where friends are trying to get each other more and more drunk, there is a very sinister side to this practice and we all have a responsibility to help stamp out this practice and act responsibly and professionally.

We understand the contradictions that reports and press releases can portray. On the one hand a report will be published like this one and weeks later we will hear that one in eight drinks are spiked, who knows what to believe? Reports like this suffer from a lack of victims coming forward and the short time frames involved in getting victims tested. Date rape drugs notoriously disappear from the blood stream quickly and often, by the time the victims realise what has happened, there is no way to confirm the drug used to facilitate their attack.

Training staff can go a long way to resolving these problems as individuals realise their responsibilities and the dangers of ignoring them, the sinister side to slipping an extra vodka in a 'friends' drink need to be put into perspective and the real dangers need to be more widely understood within your business and the sector as a whole.



Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Student arrested over Canary Wharf photos

Title – Student arrested over Canary Wharf photos
Source – London Student
Date – November 2006

Stereotypes are used in every day life, literally every day. We make a judgement on someone within the first 6 seconds of seeing them. With the newspapers full of stories of Al-Qaeda, home grown terrorists, new nuclear powers, rape, theft, murder and drugs, we can sometimes be excused for jumping to conclusions. But for those of us working within the security industry, it is our job to make informed judgements rather then simply reacting to situations.

No one can make a judgement based on how someone looks, but we can make a judgement on someone’s behaviour, but a judgement is not only a first impression, we have to try at every available chance to get more information before we act to deal with a situation.

Those attending our Conflict Management and Resolution courses (CMR) and the National Certificate for Door Supervisors (NCDS), as well as many of our other courses learn about human behaviour, body language and the meaning behind them. Taking a picture of one of London’s landmarks is not unusual behaviour and not something that should raise too many eyebrows. It may be that the police have information that those working in the private security industry simply don’t have access to. The security industry does however have a vital role to play alongside the police to support them and needs to be aware of as much information as possible both locally, nationally and internationally.

The law in the UK allows for those working within the security industry to maintain order in their venues. Those who understand the law and work within it, can use it to their advantage and enjoy a higher rate of success, then those that ignore rules and think they are either a private police force or outside of the law.

Our courses allow individuals attending to make decisions based on all information available to them and not on simple first impressions and negative stereotypes.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Sports initiations banned

Title – Sports initiations banned
Source – London Student
Date – November 2006

University students are famed for the frequency of their drinking binges. To some on the outside it seems that they do nothing other then drink 24/7 and party every night leaving a trail of destruction and stolen gnomes, street signs and traffic cones in their wake.

It is a stereotype that is not without its foundation, students in the UK consumed hundreds of millions of pounds worth of alcohol every year and breweries and pub chains spend millions trying to attract them to drink even more. The market is fiercely competitive and sometimes goes too far. One of the stalwarts of the student drinking haunts has traditionally been the Students’ Union or Guild. Once viewed as venues where hay bails and cheep beer went hand in hand, these facilities have progressed over the years to compete in this market place and have positioned themselves in many cases at its heart.

They often have the advantage of location, loyalty and pricing as there are not the pressures of shareholders expecting handsome returns, but rather the pressures of stakeholders ensuring they are getting value for money. But in many cases the success behind Students’ Unions and Guilds is more simple and straight forward, they provide bars and venues where students are surrounded by other students, feel safe and are looked after by people that really care and understand them.

Not all Students’ Unions and Guilds are as progressive as others and in general those that have systems and training in place and carry that training through are more successful then their counter parts. The progressive organisation have long term strategies that involve providing environments that their customers will want to come back to time and time again. Those that can’t see past discounting as a way of making short term gain, will never fulfil their true potential.

Some practices within the University environment still raise eyebrows, by actively encouraging binge drinking and increasing peer pressure beyond acceptable levels. But even these practices are starting to be addressed by some like UCL, who have banned the practice of sports team initiations that lead to so many individuals to drink beyond their comfortable level and more then they would choose to do so, on their own.

With over 15 years of experience of working within the Students’ Union and University sector, I understand the needs of the student market and the way to create success with all the constraints that are often placed on organisations within this system. We can help you make the most of the resources available to you, especially in the form of the students themselves. With our In-House Security Induction courses (IHSI), Licensed Retail Sector Consultancy Service and our portfolio of BIIAB Licensed Retail Sector courses as well as the National Certificate for Door Supervisors (NCDS). Through these and the Event Management side of our business, we can help support and reinvigorate your business in almost any area where it needs to be supported.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk