I WISH to praise the professionalism of the door staff at Darlington’s Inside Out club following your report headlined "Nightclub Drug Dealer is Jailed" (Echo, Jan 16). I would like to highlight the crucial role the door staff played in bringing this man to justice.
Door supervisors are highly trained and the safety and security of their customers is paramount. In this case, it was their initial suspicions that prompted them to keep Anthony Race under surveillance and question his ‘clients’ to discover he was selling cocaine and ketamine.
They continued to act in a professional manner even as he struggled during an ensuing search, which unearthed several packets of white powder and £600 cash.
As managing director of Get Licensed, a platform for specialist careers with more than 11 years’ experience in the private security sector, I can testify that door staff must pass a comprehensive course to gain the necessary licence – involving drug awareness, health and safety, customer care, conflict resolution and appropriate physical intervention skills.
The actions of these door staff ensured a drug dealer is now off the streets and I hope their care and professionalism forever banishes the outdated image of the traditional ‘bouncer’. We should be grateful for their dedication.
Shazhad Ali, managing director, Get Licensed, Kentish Town, London
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