How ID Scanner Technology Can Make Your Nightlife Safer

With the Queensland Safe Night Out Strategy getting started earlier this month, it’s time to think about the role technology will play in this action plan to reduce alcohol-related violence in Queensland bars, pubs, and other venues that serve alcohol. After all, a major part of this strategy is the use of ID scanners – machines that quickly and accurately check a patron’s ID. These card readers ensure that the patron is of legal age to drink, and that the ID is not fake or expired.

While doing this is somewhat helpful in decreasing alcohol-fueled violence, there is another aspect to these Queensland ID scanners – now being set up throughout bars and venues in Queensland precincts – that make them especially effective in stopping alcohol-related violence.

It is the fact that these ID scanners are connected in a network that makes them powerful allies in the war against violence in the Queensland night scene. What exactly does this mean? Well, let’s consider an example.

Say we have a patron who is entering a Queensland club. Let’s call this patron “John.” His ID is scanned by one of the ID scanners, and he’s good to go. Cool. So he enters the pub and has a few drinks. Maybe he has some more, and he starts to cause some anti-social behaviour. Loud-talking-in-your-face kind of behaviour.

So he’s tossed from the club. But he wants to go somewhere else. So he ambles over to the bar across the street, which also has an ID scanner. His ID is scanned.

But he’s now on a temporary ban across all venues with these ID scanners, so he’s not allowed in. And the ID scanners can identify that he’s banned, based on his ID. So he’s told to go home and cool off.

And that’s exactly what he does. The end.

The moral of the story?

With ID scanners sprouting up all across Queensland nightlife venues, the lives of everyone wanting to have fun at night are much safer. Since rowdy patrons will be quickly ejected and banned from other venues, the number of violent alcohol-related incidents will go way down in Queensland.

A few people are hesitant about the whole ID scanner thing. Won't it be a hassle, for example? Actually, no. In this day and age, ID scanners are remarkably fast and efficient. It takes seconds – at most – to have your card read. Far from being a hassle, they may in fact turn out to be much more accurate and less time-consuming than the traditional methods of card-checking.