Page 29 - Door Supervision Training Booklet

call the police. They may attend and decide to exercise their own statutory powers of search on the customer.
If, on the other hand, you have actually personally seen a customer in possession of weapons or what you believe to be controlled drugs inside the premises, then you have the power to arrest them and hand them over to the police for those offences (See ARREST chapter). In these circumstances you will obviously have to keep a strict eye on the person until the police arrive, to prevent them from disposing or using the drugs or the weapons. Alternatively, you could just eject them from the premises.
You cannot, however, trick someone into a search, nor can you bully him or her into consenting to a search.
For these reasons most venues, security companies and local authorities recommend that searches should only normally be made at the point of entry. You should always, however, be guided by the local policies and procedures on this matter, which should have been devised in consultation with the local police.
How To Conduct Searches
Searches should be conducted in a friendly, routine way so as to reduce any feelings of embarrassment that the customer might feel, and must not be seen as an act of discrimination or by way of a particular door supervisor being obstructive. All searches should be carried out in a polite and courteous manner. Some customers may feel intimidated or worried when being searched, whilst others may be used to it. You should talk to customers as you search them, firstly to help make them feel at ease, and secondly it will give you the opportunity to assess their general attitude and may show you whether they have had too much to drink, for example. You should try to carry out the search as quickly and as efficiently as possible, thanking the customer for his assistance afterwards.
Random searches of customers should be carried out at a frequency and in a manner that is likely to enhance the deterrent factor, and to increase the rates of detecting illegal and unauthorised items. The selection of customers to be searched may not be made on racial grounds, or on any other grounds that could be viewed as discriminatory.
It is very important to remember that for your own safety you should only search someone of the same sex as yourself. This is to prevent any malicious allegations being made to police that you have indecently assaulted a customer whilst affecting a search. There is nothing wrong with a male supervisor asking a female customer to empty the contents of her handbag and pockets onto a table so that her property can be checked, but he should not 'pat her down' or otherwise touch her to detect unauthorised items. Many large nightclubs now employ door supervisors of both sexes for this very reason.
Special care should also be taken when searching customers for drugs. The possibility of infection from dirty needles is obvious. You can now buy needle-resistant gloves for searching purposes, which are ideal for these situations. When the emphasis on the searching is for weapons, door supervisors may wish to use the slash-proof gloves as protection against knife injuries, or can use hand-held metal detectors that can indicate the presence of both knives and firearms.
28