News Article: April 15, 2004
Section: News
Outlet: TechTV
Byline: Amy Plemons
Title: Pubs, Clubs Use High-Tech ID System to Track Troublemakers
Television Segment
Date: 2004-04-15
April 15— Soon you may be asked for more than your identification when you go into a bar or nightclub. In Vancouver, Canada, you could also be asked to smile for a camera.
The Vigilance ID check system was developed by Vancouver's TreoScope Technologies. It works by taking your picture as your ID is swiped through a card reader. Your name, birth date, and diver's license number are transferred from the magnetic strip on the back of your card to a computer database where that info, along with your photo, are stored.
"The idea behind it was to create a system that would protect patrons and establishments from people out to make the nightlife unsafe," TreoScope co-owner Owen Cameron says. "It's a 24-hour doorman that never forgets a name or a face."
If you cause trouble, not only can you get kicked out of the club, but bar owners can go through the photos, find you, and red flag you for future visits.
Cameron says those running the system in their establishments can also attach reports to your name and face — a regular rap sheet for whatever you may have done wrong, from fighting and excessive drinking to drink-tampering.
Rowdy Bar-Hopper Stopper
But if you draw a red flag, don't think you can just go down the street to the next bar or even across town. Every bar that's hooked into the electronic system can find out if you've caused trouble someplace else.
"You could have a troublemaker at one bar, send [his information] off to all bars on the system, and the bar would be aware of his history," Genesis' Dave Sukic says.
It's then up to each bar to decide whether to let the patron inside.
Tristan Vanin is the general manager of Vancouver hot spot the Plaza Club. Vanin says the club felt it needed to tighten security in the wake of increasing violence in the area.
"It all starts with the front door and who you are letting in," he says. "It only takes one gunshot or one act of violence, and it'll ruin your club night."