Development of Safer Bars
Safer Bars program draws on prevention research from around the world. The program was developed by CAMH over 5 years in consultation with bar owners & staff as well as the police, lawyers, community health professionals, civic leaders & liquor-licensing officials.
The Safer Bars program was developed to reduce aggression & injury in licensed premises. The Safer Bars training program helps staff develop techniques for preventing & managing aggression & other problem behaviour.
The Safer Bars risk assessment workbook assists bar owners & managers to identify & reduce environmental factors in their premises that increase risk of aggression.
The Safer Bars program was developed to reduce risks of problem behaviour & prevent injury in bars & night clubs. It consists of:
- Assessing & Reducing Risks of Violence – identify & address environment risks of aggression & other problems
- Safer Bars Training – a 3 hour training program; techniques for managing problem behaviour & reducing risks of injury & legal problems
- Do you know the law - a legal pamphlet illustrating the legal risks of allowing aggression in bars & clubs
- Certificates of completion for each attendee
BENIFITS
The program can benefit the general public, bar & club patrons, the hospitality industry & local communities by:
- providing employees with observation & communication techniques to prevent, defuse & manage customer disturbances
- increasing public safety – reduced aggression & violence in bars, less violent behaviour spilling out of bars onto neighbourhoods, and safer innocent bystanders
- strengthening the ability of bar staff to function as a team when dealing with problems that occur in their bar
- helping to reduce the legal liability of bar staff and owners by focusing on the management of aggressive behaviour in bars through non-physical means.
EVALUATION
The Safer Bars program was evaluated using a randomised control design involving 30 licensed premises over a 3 year period. The results indicated both significant change in knowledge & attitudes of bar staff & management involved in the program, as well as a significant decrease in aggression observed by objective researchers-observers.The research indicates that on the nights of observation moderate-severe physical aggression which occurred in the experimental bars decreased by 28% following the training, while the aggression in control bars increased during the same periods.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT SAFER BARS
“At present Safer Bars, a program developed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Ontario, Canada, is the only training program that focuses specifically on preventing violence in licensed and club premises and which has been evaluated and made publically available.”
Professor Ross Homel
Foundation Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, and Director of the University's Strategic Research Program in the Social and Behavioural Sciences.
See Professor Homel's document "Sustaining a Reduction of Alcohol-Related Harms in the Licensed Environment" at the Drinkwise website, click here.
"The Safer Bars training program helps staff develop techniques for preventing and managing aggression and other problem behaviour. The Safer Bars risk assessment workbook assists bar owners and managers to identify and reduce environmental factors in their premises that increase risk of aggression.
The Safer Bars training is based on research about aggression in licensed premises as well as knowledge on communication approaches generally, such as use of personal space and body language and techniques that were developed for police officers and others who work with violent individuals."
Kathryn Graham
Senior Scientist and Head Social Factors and Prevention Initiatives Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
"My submission to the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing review of Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) called for tighter requirements and higher standards to help prevent serious intoxication and impacts on the community and public domain. Measures to reduce the impacts of alcohol abuse, crime and anti-social behaviour are vital in the inner city, which has a significant number of licensed premises.
City of Sydney research confirms that a small number of hotels are often be associated with a large proportion of crime, reinforcing previous Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) analysis linking higher crime with proximity to licensed premises.
My submission argues for:
- Practical skills development & behaviour testing
- Higher training requirements for staff working in large venues, late trading & high risk venues
- Training should also cover dealing with conflict, and the Canadian Safer Bars Program has been shown to inform and skill bar and security staff so that they can identify aggression early and use effective body language and verbal communication to prevent violence and improve safety. The NSW Government should use this and similar programs to help prevent alcohol-related violence.”
Clover Moore
Member for Sydney and Lord Mayor of Sydney
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SAFER BARS PROGRAM
Bar Guardians Pty Ltd has been licensed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada to deliver the Safer Bars program in NSW, VIC and QLD exclusively.CAMH is internationally recognised as one of the 4 Centres of Excellence in mental health & addiction in the world.
CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO DOWNLOAD MORE INFORMATION
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