Editorial: Bouncers still have free rein

When draft legislation regulating bouncers and private security guards was published in 2010, then home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said it would end the prevailing “jungle situation”.

Nine years later, the minister responsible for the police, Michael Farrugia, had referred to talks to revamp bouncer’s licensing requirements amid concerns that nightclub owners were finding it difficult to engage ‘legitimate’ personnel. Defining the exercise as a “reform”, he had said this was at “an advanced stage” and “will be finalised shortly”.

However, not much has changed, if anything at all.

Paceville being an entertainment mecca where young and old congregate and booze keeps spirits high, violent incidents are bound to happen. Indeed, a lawyer, appearing for a bouncer arraigned over a New Year’s Eve incident, observed in court that, should all those involved in a fight in Paceville be charged under arrest, “duty magistrates would face about 50 cases daily”.

That is already quite worrying. Just as bad, if not worse, is the fact that it is not only unruly revellers that cause disorder, sometimes with tragic results, but also those paid to ensure troublemakers are kept in check.

There has been a long string of violent incidents involving bouncers, security personnel or private guards, like the one on New Year’s Eve. As this latest case is now before the magistrates’ court, it would be unethical, even illegal, going into its merits and, more so, trying to apportion blame.

It is opportune, however, to discuss the general situation with regard to the hiring and regulation of bouncers. Because all the indications are that the “law of the jungle” still prevails, the area remains a “wild west” and a “blatant laissez-faire mentality” persists. These are all labels actually used after violent incidents were reported or ended up in court.

Along the years, we have been promised a stronger police presence, more discipline, better law enforcement and even CCTV cameras. And yet…

Asked about the reform promised in 2019, a home affairs ministry spokesperson replied that violence on the streets is not a matter of reforms but about “basics” and that a security licence is not a permit to commit violence.

The ‘basic’, fundamental issue here seems to be that some ‘cowboys’ are being allowed to do as they please. “Some people and their establishments in Paceville seem to be untouchable. All I am asking is that laws should be observed equally by all and should, therefore, be enforced equally for all,” Nationalist MP Albert Buttigieg had told Times of Malta when he was mayor of St Julian’s.

It is widely known many unlicensed bouncers work in Paceville. The police surely know it and, indeed, who they are and at which leisure outlet they can be found.

Veteran bouncer and licence holder Anthony Carabott once described the scenario such: “You see these guys, they think they are in an action movie, beating people up, when their job is to do the opposite.”

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri says frequent spot checks are held in Paceville to ensure bouncers are licensed. Yet, even people in the industry strongly doubt whether the number of licensed bouncers is adequate to meet today’s demands, which go well beyond having security personnel outside nightclubs or entertainment spots.

So, the basic thing to do is for the authorities to first ensure the law is fully respected and that bouncers are not engaged under some other title, like ‘door managers’.

Bouncer brutality can then start being addressed effectively.