Jeff Gauthier, a professor with the School of Health and Community Services and senior addictions counsellor at Pinewood Centre of Lakeridge Health Corporation, recently educated attendees of the 2007 Annual Alcohol Responsibility Conference about the Safer Bars program, which educates bar staff about bar safety and violence prevention.
E.P. Taylor's, Durham College's on-campus pub, has invited Jeff Gauthier, a professor with the School of Health and Community Services and senior addictions counsellor at Pinewood Centre of Lakeridge Health Corporation in Oshawa, Ontario, to train its staff in the Safer Bars program each September.
Gauthier, along with Jean Homza, manager of the 9:30 Club in Washington, District of Columbia, recently educated attendees of the 2007 Annual Alcohol Responsibility Conference in Baltimore, Maryland from Wednesday, August 22 to Friday, August 24. Their presentation, Creating a Safe and Secure Environment, is partially based on the Safer Bars program that Gauthier helped originally develop for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario. The goal of the program, which is one of the only research-based training programs of its kind, is to prevent violence in licensed establishments and teach bar staff about risk assessment.
"I teach the E.P. Taylor's bar staff about risk assessment every September," Gauthier said. "Creating a safe environment is about preventing intoxication in guests, and knowing what to look for can reduce the number of violent situations."
The Safer Bars program places a strong focus on professionalism. Remaining calm and respectful of bar patrons will have a more positive effect than becoming rude and intimidating. According to Gauthier's presentation, every customer fight and security response creates the potential for a lawsuit and bars have been sued more often for using unnecessary or excessive force than for any other reason.
Gauthier's research shows that many incidents are not directly related to intoxication, but to macho attitudes, sexual overtures, jealousy and bar activities such as pool. In addition, some highly aggressive individuals are attracted to bar security jobs and many employees lack the skills to manage problematic behaviour and prevent the escalation of violence.
The Safer Bars program consists of a three-hour training session, including a video, a participant workbook, legal pamphlet and teaches how to safely deal with a person who has a weapon or is behaving strangely. The risk assessment component focuses on reducing the risk of aggressive behavior via environmental factors. The workbook allows the owner or manager to rate the bar on 92 risk factors and five general aspects related to hiring, training and supervising staff. Finally, the training is directed toward reducing violence and injury by improving staff interaction with patrons, including early prevention; effective use of tactics and body language; planning ahead and working as a team; controlling temper; and awareness of legal responsibilities.
Training sections consist of learning how aggression escalates; assessing the situation; knowing oneself and remaining calm; implementing non-verbal techniques; responding to problem situations; and becoming aware of legal issues.
Gauthier is training this year's E.P. Taylor's staff on Sunday, September 9.