Up close - nothing personal

In 12 years as a doorman he has been stabbed, beaten and verbally abused but Lee Morrison was never put off the job he loves so much - until now.

Now the purveyors of red tape have succeeded where the thugs have failed.

Lee has quit his chosen profession and in doing so he will be leaving an interesting legacy.

He has learned a lot about dealing with the characters and incidents on the door - so much so that he has put all of his knowledge into a book. Up Close, Nothing Personal - Practical Self-Protection for Door Security Staff is a handbook for anyone thinking of taking up the night job.

"The book offers advice about how to recognise aggressive behaviour, physical restraint methods, pre-emptive strike and intervention techniques," explained Lee.

Lee, who is divorced with four children, has worked at a number of clubs in Southampton and Portsmouth including Leisureworld and also at Southampton Guildhall.

With this wealth of experience behind him, he points out what he sees as a major weakness of the Security Industry Authority's training course.

He said: "It doesn't help bouncers with any methods of self-defence, so I hope that my book will fill in the gaps in doormen's knowledge."

The government recently introduced legislation which means that all security staff will need to have completed a course to be eligible to hold a licence.

The system is overseen by the SIA, which hopes that the licence system, already in force in Hampshire, will make dodgy doormen a thing of the past.

Bouncers will have to train in key areas such as "conflict management" and will face criminal record checks.

By April 11, 2005, it will be illegal for door staff to work without a licence anywhere in England and Wales.

As well as breaking up and preventing trouble, the new breed of door staff will need to train in drug awareness and coping in an emergency.

The licence is the first nationally recognised qualification for door staff, who until now had been regulated by local authorities.

From this month, it is now a criminal offence to work as a door supervisor in Hampshire or the Isle of Wight without an SIA licence. Licensing will eventually be rolled out region by region, reaching London last.

Each licence application will cost £190, and will cover the holder for three years. Before applying for a licence, staff must hold a Level 2 National Certificate in Door Supervision qualification.

Lee is critical of the new system. He says: "The new course provides inadequate training and will make door security staff a liability to the company they are working for.

"The course does not cover conflict management, and the physical training provided is inadequate. When alcohol and people mix it is a recipe for trouble. If a drunk kicks off in a club, a bouncer needs to know how to be able to handle the situation and defuse the threat of possible violence.

"The conflict management section of the SIA training course needs to be looked at and needs to be functional."

During the past 20 years the number of door supervisors has grown dramatically with the boom in the night-time economy.

It is estimated that there are currently 95,000 door supervisors employed in pubs, clubs and bars in England and Wales.

The levels of force referred to in Lee's book may sound extreme - for instance he describes slapping someone in the groin, applying choke holds around the neck until the assailant is unconscious, and even using a mobile phone aerial as a means of defending yourself by jabbing it in someone's eye.

Lee argues that the levels drunken violence makes it necessary for bouncers to improvise.

"Being a bouncer is a thankless and difficult job," he said.

"A bouncer needs to be able to pre-empt an attack and to stop the assailant before they do any damage to you, your colleagues or other members of the public.

"If that means hitting them down to the floor, then so be it."

Lee has now quit as a bouncer because he does not want to do the SIA course.

He says the future looks grim. "Many veteran door staff won't want to take the qualification. They will find other jobs, leading to a shortage of good door security."

LEE'S TOP TIPS FOR DOOR STAFF:

(taken from his book Up Close, Nothing Personal)

1. If there is no staff toilet in your venues and you have to use the customers' faclities then always use a cubicle with the door locked. Do not use the urinal where you have your back to Joe Public and a low level of visual awareness.

2. Make sure you only ever wear a quick release clip-on tie unless you want to end up getting strangled by your own tie.

3. Steel toe-cap boots can prove to be an excellent equaliser - smart-looking and discreet is best.

4. A gum shield can come in very handy in a brawl situation where punches are coming in from all directions. Keep it handy and put it in on the way to a scene.

5. All you need is one or two good techniques that you can use pre-emptively. Practise these thousands of times on a heavy bag until they become part of your being, in other words an instinctive reaction that will be triggered into action by the stress of the situation.

6. Train your technique to hit hard and be first. This is assuming of course that it is the worst-case scenario, all your non-physical options have failed and that a lesser physical option will not cut it.

7. Learn as much as you can about your body's response to danger.

8. Learn to expect and accept the adrenal state and make it your ally. Gain an understanding of the aggressor's body language, and the rituals of aggression and deception that he will use against you. Try and get a good team together and develop game plans for dealing with certain situations.

Up Close, Nothing Personal by Lee Morrison is published by Apex Publishing. ISBN 1-904444-10-5