New ID Scanners Improve Safety
Downtown Colorado Springs? clubs and bars are using new identification scanners.
It?s a handheld device that looks like what a grocery store clerk would use to scan inventory.
When a guest goes into an establishment, the staff will scan the driver?s license. It immediately verifies the guest?s age and the ID?s validity.
The scanner allows clubs to quickly identify fake or passed IDs, as well as flag patrons who have been kicked out of other bars.
Luke Travins with Concept Restaurants in Colorado Springs said clubs could share information quicker to keep out consistent troublemakers.
?If we catch someone stealing a woman’s purse, which unfortunately happens now and then in nightclubs, and we know who did it, we want to relay that info to all area bars,” said Travins.
The scanners have also helped police catch people using counterfeit money and stolen credit cards.
?This sends a message that downtown will not tolerate bad behavior,? said Ron Butlin, executive director of the Downtown Partnership.
The Colorado Springs Police Department, the Downtown Premier Partners and the Downtown Business Improvement District are responsible for implementing the new scanners as well as other safety measures including a code of conduct and dress code.
