Safer Bars program helps to prevent violence and injuries

 

The Health Unit carries out the Safer Bars program in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Renfrew County FOCUS Community Project. Safer Bars was developed by CAMH. The purpose of Safer Bars is to reduce customer aggression and violence that often occur in licensed drinking venues like bars and at special occasion permit events.

 

By training bar owners, managers, servers and floor monitors to prevent and intervene in aggressive and violent altercations in bars, the risk of injuries and legal liability is reduced.  By reducing problem incidents in bars, there is a reduced risk to the general public as there is less vandalism, property damage, injuries and impaired driving.

 

The Safer Bars program has three components:

1 ) Safer Bars “Assessing and Reducing Risks of Violence” checklist

This is an easy-to-self-administer checklist that enables a bar owner to determine how safe the bar is from a social and physical perspective.

 

2)  Safer Bars “Do you know the law?” booklet

This is an easy-to-read booklet that describes the legal and legislative environment that bars in Ontario must comply with to avoid legal and financial repercussions of not keeping customer’s safe.

 

3)  Safer Bars Training Workshop

The purpose of the training is to increase the ability of bar staff to work as a team to reduce the risk of customers becoming aggressive, violent or injured.  CAMH provides a trainer to facilitate this workshop.  Each participant receives a workbook, the “Do you know the law” booklet, and a certificate of completion.

 

Safer Bars Program and Related Activities in 2006

 

• Five (5) Safer Bars Program training workshops were held in Renfrew County and District. A total of 70 people participated.

 

• As a follow-up to the training, the Health Unit collaborated with FOCUS Community Project partners and the local CAMH consultant to host a “Bar Policy Workshop”.  Six (6) representatives from three (3) bars attended.  As a result of this workshop, three (3) new bar policies were developed.

 

• At one of the Safer Bars Program workshops, a bar owner indicated that resource materials in support of checking identification for legal drinking age would be helpful to bar staff. As a result, a “checking I.D.” poster and wallet card were developed. Each licensed establishment in Renfrew County received a poster and enough wallet cards for each staff member. The response has been positive.

 

• The Renfrew County Rape Drug Committee distributed 20,000 coasters to licensed establishments across Renfrew County and District to increase awareness about the dangers of rape drugs.