"The beast in me is caged by frail and fragile bars" Johnny Cash, ( by Nick Lowe. Plangent Visions Music Inc)

The Reptile Brain

Introduction   On a nightly basis, DS have the opportunity to observe the full spectrum of human behaviour. These behaviour patterns range from the light and bright to the dark and dangerous.  This section is designed to give the DS an insight into the minds of individuals who may appear to  have 'lost the plot' and are behaving in an antisocial manner. Most people engage in social interaction, drinking and the use of illegal drugs to unwind and enjoy themselves. But, on many occasions, these three factors can produce a monster. Social interaction, drink and illegal drugs will create altered states of consciousness that have a direct effect on the forebrain. This part of the brain is responsible for all aspects of learning, judgment, the regulation of behaviour (Scarf 1976 p.87) as well as speech control. When the forebrain is disabled by either drugs, drink and the hormones of an emotional high,  there is a high probability that rational control through the forebrain will be lost. Without this rational control, more primitive parts of the brain have a more direct input into human behaviour. Social constraints, empathy, conscience and learned behaviour patterns are forgotten and the individual  will appear to behave like a reptile.

The theory of  The Reptile Brain has not been proven, or disproved for that matter. It  is used here to serve as a  metaphor, a simple plausible description for the workings of the human brain and an explanation for the horrifying behaviour that DS have to deal with on a nightly basis. Once you recognise the cues outlined below for an individual descending into evil and dangerous behaviour, you will be able to pre-empt that behaviour. Later on, the legal eagles, can dress up their clients, comb their hair and then cite the 'Twinkie Syndrome',  'Drunk as a Skunk' or 'The Abuse Excuse',  but when the problem is in your face, you are dealing with a reptile. 

The Triune Theory    One possible source for the evil and dangerous behaviour exhibited by human beings has been labeled  'The Reptile Brain'. A concept first proposed by P.D. McLean in 1973. He noted that the human brain is clearly divided into three sections.   The three sections of the human brain  represent  the major evolutionary stages in it's development. This concept is also called microgenesis. Although these three sections are separate, they are interconnected by many nerve fibers or neural connections. 

The Reptile Brain -  Responsible for Mechanical Behaviour  The Reptile Brain is also called the Primitive or Archipallium  Brain. It has not changed much over the past 240 million years. This section includes the brain stem, comprising of the midbrain, pons and medulla as well as the cerebellum. From within the brain stem, information from the outside world is relayed to the other two sections of the brain. The brain stem  is responsible for mechanical and instinctive human behaviour.  This includes the life sustaining reflex processes of breathing, sleeping and the heart beat as well as aggression, flight, mating and self preservation. When this part of the brain is responsible for human behaviour, it is expressed as sex without love, including rape and child abuse, road rage, murder and wife beating. There are no signs here that either the heart rules the mind or the mind rules the heart, there is only mindless behaviour. Although it is claimed that there are simple learned responses stored in the brain stem (Ornstein & Carstensen, 1991. p96), this part of the brain is incapable of learning from past mistakes.    

The Limbic System -  Responsible for Emotional Behaviour  The Limbic System or Old Mammalian Brain, which surrounds the brain stem is named after the mammals that replaced the reptiles. The limbic system evolved over 60 million years ago. The main role of this section of the brain is to maintain homeostasis throughout the body. This means it regulates body temperatures, blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar levels. Without this process of homeostasis the human body would remain cold - blooded and  reptilian. The Limbic system also  governs the emotional instincts and emotional behaviours expressed  in relation to the four F's. These are,  Feeding, Fighting, Fleeing and Finally, sexual union. Here the heart can overrule the reasoning mind. For example, affairs of the heart, hunches, intuition, gut feelings and instincts can influence an individual's  final decision. At the most basic level, this part of the brain determines how you feel towards a subject. That is, either positive or negative, good or bad and finally, avoiding pain  and repeating pleasure.  

The Neocoetex - Responsible for Rational Behaviour   The Reptile Brain and the Limbic System  is enveloped by  the gray matter of the Neocortex,  or the New Mammalian brain. This third section evolved over the last million years. Although all animals have a  Neocortex,  it is more developed in human beings, comprising of up to two thirds of the total brain mass. It  governs reasoning and language. (Eyesenck H & M 1994 p.230)  This part of the brain is also responsible for controlling the basic instincts and reflexes of the Reptile Brain and controlling the emotional behaviour created by the Limbic System. This third section of the brain, in evolutionary terms,  has also been through an explosive development (Hunt 1982 p28-30).

Brain and Behaviour   Because of the similarity between the older sections of the human brain and that of fish, reptiles and early mammals,  it has been inferred that there are also similarities in behaviour patterns. For example, Susan Greenfield (1997) infers that the Triune Theory might; 

'help us understand the literally mindless and uniform behaviour of masses at political rallies' (p.13).

Or as Ardly (1970) states;

'The mob reverts to the Reptilian Brain'

Koestler (1976) states;

"psychological problems can be traced back to the dysfunction between the three brains".

Montagu (1975) argues against these views. He states that because of the similarities between the brains of reptiles and humans, it does not necessarily  follow that there will be similarities in behaviour.

What Montague has not tried to explain is what happens when the cortex loses primary control and behaviour is dependant on the direct influence of the Old Mammalian and Reptilian brains. This can occur when the individual ingests either drugs or drink or else loses emotional control.  For example,  in moments of sheer terror or fear, or in legal terms, in 'the heat of the moment', 'crimes of passion' etc.

Outlined in the chart below are some of cues for an immanent fight or Reptilian behaviour.  It is imperative that you recognise these cues. This chart simplifies the behaviour pattern of the Child Abuser, the Wife Beater and the Bully.  The individual you are observing is descending into a dark and dangerous frame of mind.  They are just about ready to move from the verbal stage to the physical stage of their abusive behaviour. Having already decided to attack you, it is just a question of time before their body floods with adrenalin and they launch that attack.  Armed with the following  information it may be possible for you to pull them back or else react positively to their behaviour.  

When an individual enters these final stages,  you are faced with an individual who has no conscience and no rational control. Their body may be locked solid in bilateral symmetry. In this condition, restraints or any other attempt to move them will fail. You will feel like you are dealing with a solid wall. This person will go on to behave like a  psychopath.  By that, I mean they will act impulsively and recklessly, without a care for the consequences for their actions. If you witness this behaviour pattern it is usually happening as you are being assaulted and murdered by drunks, drug addicts or enraged individuals. 

Dealing With Reptiles

Other than using the pre-emptive strike, there are two other weapons  you can try in order to draw the individual back from their decent into reptilian behaviour. Those  are Posture and Verbal Interaction. If you can keep the individual engaged in conversation, while presenting an inoffensive demeanor, there is less likelihood of them  going totally Reptile. For example, on one occasion I stopped an individual from fighting by keeping both my palms open, facing him and asked him. "What has happened? What is wrong?".  By meeting immanent violence with a concerned attitude and a non violent posture, I defused the situation and the individual walked off. My palms open stance was non-confrontational but I was 100% ready to dodge away and then whack the bum if his shoulders as much as twitched. 

There is one other type of  reptile who will extend your patience and good nature to the limits. These are the drunken individuals who realise you are operating a minimum force policy, that is, you have not hit the bums, as yet, despite their drunken tirade. Once you get them to the door without a fight, they can shift their emotions from happy drunk to psycho reptile faster than you can close the door on their back. Usually they will vent their spleen on inanimate objects, rather than you,  if you keep the door closed.

Consider some of the statistics from the Health Promotion Agency (NI)(2002), where alcohol has been estimated to be a factor in:

• 45% of wounding and assault cases
• 88% of criminal damage arrests

The following real life situation  involved these two percentages, with the perp vacillating between drunken aggression, Reptile Mode and adrenalin highs for  approximately ten minutes. 

I observed my partner physically ejecting a drunk from the venue, after failing to talk him out. At the door I took over the incident, allowing my partner to back off from this hostile scene. This procedure normally has the effect of deescalating the situation. Not in this case, Mr. Anus became more agitated and frustrated despite all my attempts. He then proceeded to rip up the bedding plants from the bar garden and throw them at me. That was just for openers, he then came close enough to spit on me and despite the admonishments of his friends he then proceeded to kick  out. At this stage I closed the door on Mr. Anus, hoping he would cool down and depart with his friends.

This ploy also failed. Mr. Anus made his way to the side door and despite being restrained by his friend, he spat at, kicked and then tried to head butt me. At this stage, ( Oh, Happy Days)  he broke away from his friends so I pinned him to the wall with my version of the Vulcan Death Grip. I was amused to note that this move usually had my training partners groveling, speechless and tapping out. I was now quite happily using twice as much force,  but Mr. Anus was only whining,  "Let me go, big man!"  At least the hold stopped the kicking,  spitting and head butting.  It was quite obvious that an adrenalin dump had taken place and the minimum force pressure point attack did not totally work. I also used this time out to ask Mr. Anus to desist from his physical abuse. Again, a friend intervened and walked him away from the door where he proceeded to kick out the garden lighting system.

Oh no, it's not over yet. Mr. Anus and friends parted company at this stage, he was now becoming too much of a liability. Mr. Anus was still in full Reptile Mode and collected half a house brick from a nearby building site and stuffed it into his back pocket.  He then knocked on the front door, expecting the Man in Black to greet him.  Thank goodness for CCTV and the bar monitor. We waited for the arrival of the police, whereupon Mr. Anus dropped the half brick, smiled  and then winked at me like we were lifelong buddies. It didn't work. When the police came back two hours later to take my statement on his alleged, and video taped, criminal damage and assault, Mr. Anus was still maintaining he was known as Elvis, The King.

The Psychological Factors That Effect the Behaviour of Door Supervisors

There are three main psychological factors that affect the behaviour of door supervisors. These are:

1. Attitude
2. Personality Type
3. Moral Courage

Attitude   An attitude is a mind set, a collection of beliefs as well as an orientation towards a specific subject. Past experience helps to mould our attitudes and these attitudes can be altered by new experiences, such as a training programme. Attitude has a direct effect on the behaviour of a DS. If their attitude towards the job and their practical ability are strongly interrelated, you will see a good DS in action.  If a DS has the attitude that he wants to do a good job on the door, but lacks the knowledge and practical ability to perform that task, then his performance will fail to mirror his intent.  There are four examples of attitude set out below, the first two are negative and the last two are positive. 

• This first example of poor attitude concerns the yesterday men of DS work. I am describing 'The Neanderthal', who sometimes appear on TV or radio interviews and send you cringing behind the potato couch in embarrassment. They cross-references well with the dysfunctional family, the wife beater, the bully, the murderer and the psychopath. The Neanderthals are well known for their hostile attitudes towards all patrons.  Their sole purpose  in life is to do unto some little toe rag what parent’s or the police have failed to do. The Neanderthal will sort out and chastise any little bugger that dares to step out of line. Rather than guide or steer young people who are away from their family environment, the Neanderthal  operates to his own  banal agenda by intimidating  and abusing those in his care.

• This second example of poor attitude will discuss the naďve young DS. These individuals try to be nice to everybody, hoping that behaviour will be rescinded, fat chance. This type of DS has probably finished the Door Supervisors Registration course with top marks on the tick test. He will soon learn that this class room knowledge has done nothing to help him  to interact with others in the real world.  His attitude, focused on doing  good job on the door, will not be reflected in his behaviour because he lacks the practical experience.

• The first example of  the correct attitude to be displayed by DS will discuss the competent controllers. These people are the Crocodile Dundee’s of the DS world. They are experienced DS who understand the life cycle and behaviour of the crocodile. At all times they are alert and moving through the venue, constantly observing their charges. At all times they are pre-emptive and being pro-active, controlling all those patrons who may be inclined to behave in a dysfunctional manner.  The Crocodile Dundee’s of the DS world are pleasant guys to talk to. They interact well with everybody. But, as soon as they spot a badly behaving crocodile, they are able to switch mentally in order to step in and sort the reptile out.

• The second example of the correct attitude to be displayed by DS is a caring attitude. This  is where the DS believe that they are there to care for and protect all the patrons, staff and property. This attitude has to be maintained, even when the patrons and staff appear to be going obnoxious or reptile on you.  As soon as you loose sight of the caring factor, you are neck deep in doggy do. When a young person sets their mind on having a good night out, you are there to protect them and ensure that they do have a good night out. You are there to greet them into your venue and then bid them 'Safe Home' at the end of the night. In between that you are there to protect them, even from their own excesses. Show them, when necessary,  the acceptable limits of their behaviour and inform them about the 'House Rules'. Verbally and physically abusing naive young people is not a DS duty, caring for them is.

Psychological research has shown that your attitude will be reflected in your behaviour more consistently if you incorporate the following three factors. 

1. You have to be totally involved in a specific area of interest. 

2. Knowledge acquired personally on a specific subject will positively affect your behaviour. 

3. Direct personal experience acquired in a specific subject area will also positively affect your behaviour.

Personality Type   For academic reasons, personality types are split into specific slots. In reality, most individuals are a mixture of  all the personality types, with different  personality types being expressed at different times. There is only one type of personality suitable for the job of DS work. The social interactive role of the DS demands the personality of the gregarious extravert. This is someone who enjoys meeting and interacting with others. You must be capable of verbally expressing yourself at all times. In order to keep the peace, it is essential that you are also capable of hiding your true feelings from some individuals or situations. On other occasions you have to empathise with others in order to control the situation. This task appears to be easier for extraverts as opposed to introverts who bottle up their feelings and may allow a situation to deteriorate without speaking out

Psychopaths are not suitable candidates for DS work. The egocentric orientation of the psychopath’s social interaction skills will not allow them to sustain a long-term influence over regular patrons. The psychopath is always concerned with short-term gains. They try to control individuals for their own personal gain and are incapable of empathizing with others. When the psychopath’s attempts to control fail, they are more easily frustrated and therefore  inclined to be more physically aggressive, impulsive and reckless.  The psychopath is also incapable of considering the consequences of their behaviour or learning from their mistakes. This personality type has to be weeded out in the initial stages of training, perhaps with an aptitude test.

Moral Courage   It is not everybody who has the ability to handle both physical and verbal abuse without over-reacting. Psychopaths and other individuals may not have the moral fiber to stand up and achieve their objectives in the face of contempt, violence and interference. Moral courage allows you to think rationally in tight situations and respond with good as opposed to evil behaviour. The long-term way to learn this would be from constant personal experience with all the mistakes up front to slow down the learning process. The most ideal way to test and develop moral courage is to be placed in a training scenario that replicates the real world.  That way you will develop an attitude that is reflected in your behaviour because the attitude is based on practical experience and knowledge.

Training DS to Deal With the Psychological Factors That Affect Behaviour

Real life scenario training is essential for DS who must learn to deal with the psychological factors that affect their behaviour. This form of training has three main objectives.

• First, the training must be constructed in order to weed out those individuals who are totally incapable of dealing with both verbal and physical abuse.
• Second, the training must develop the correct attitude in the individual so that the attitude is reflected in their behaviour.
• Third, the training must be progressive in nature in order to build up the physical and social skills of the DS under instruction. This form of training would also have the effect of inuring the DS to the effects of both verbal and physical abuse.

At present the UK and US national approach to the training of DS has been restricted to knowledge based assessment tests. In this situation a group of DS are now registered to care for the protection of the patrons at their venue, based on their response to a tick test. In the real world the demands will shift from this tick test of knowledge and literacy to the practical skills of verbal and non-verbal interaction as well as physical control.  These areas have not been addressed adequately in the training programmes.

What Causes Violent Conflict Between Patrons and DS?

There is no clear prime factor for aggression between humans.  Many different factors have been cited that lead to aggression. These factors include; heat, noise overcrowding, alcohol, anger, fear, pain, riots and finally, aggressive cues such as available weapons or improvised weapons. Outlined below are five causes for violent conflict between patrons and DS:

1. Violent intent of the patron.
2. Poor attitude of the DS.
3. Lack of DS training in social interaction skills.
4. Alcohol
5. Frustration - Aggression Theory

Violent intent of the patron   On many occasions a DS will be confronted by a patron, either drunk or sober who is hell bent on starting a fight. This violent patron will blank out all the de-escalation efforts of the DS and continue to go ‘reptile’.  The two main types of aggression used by patrons on DS are labeled Instrumental and Emotional. 

Instrumental aggression is used in order to eliminate the victim. In this situation you may be faced by an individual who is totally committed to making your face look like a busted sofa. For another example, the bar may contain at least 10 regulars whom you have ‘spoken to’ or put down on earlier occasions. They will take the opportunity of a row or fight to sneak in a naughty poke or two on your blind side and then give you a bad beating. 

Emotional aggression is used by someone in extreme anger or fear. They may be angry because you will not allow them into the venue so they vent their rage on you. On other occasions, the patron may be trying to start a fight with another patron. When the DS step in to de-escalate the situation, the violent patron becomes more angry. Without warning, the DS then becomes the target.  Fear can induce emotional aggression. For example, while you are escorting a person off the venue, they may attack you because they fear for their safety. Some venues have a bad reputation for escorting patrons outside in order to give them a kicking off camera. If a patron expects this to happen at your venue, you will have trouble escorting them off the premises.

Later on their legal representatives may cite the ‘Twinkie Clause’, the ‘Abuse Excuse’ or the ‘Drunk as a Skunk’ clause for their deplorable lapse, but the DS can only interpret what they are faced with as violent intent and then protect themselves.   

Poor Attitude of the DS   The primary role of the DS is to care for all the individuals at their venue.  It is also the duty of the DS to remain impervious to the slings and arrows from toe rags that try to goad them into unprofessional modes of behaviour. Once the DS start taking insults as a personal slight, they become emotionally involved in the situation and it rapidly escalates into a physical confrontation.

Lack of  DS training in social interaction skills   The aim of the DS is to keep violent behaviour from occurring at all, not dealing with it or controlling it. Learning how to walk, talk, stand and interact with others is a small price to pay for a peaceful night’s work. Learning how to de-escalate violent situations will reduce the chance of those situations escalating at all. It is far better to experience insulting behaviour in the confines of the training environment than in the real world. A hasty response to a ‘term of endearment’ will cost the DS his job and sometimes his house. Once the anatomy of bum fights are explained to an individual, they will be much better equipped, both mentally and emotionally, to deal with it in a professional manner.

Alcohol  Alcohol attacks and anesthetizes the fore brain. This part of the brain is responsible for all aspects of learning, judgment and the regulation of behaviour (Scarf 1976 p.87). Alcohol will also make individuals hypersensitive to aggressive cues, either real or imagined. Consider this section from a table of  statistics issued by The Health Promotion Agency (NI, 2002),  where alcohol has been estimated to be a factor in:

• 45% of wounding and assault cases
• 88% of criminal damage arrests

Frustration - Aggression Theory   Frustration occurs when someone, deliberately or accidentally, stops another individual from achieving their objective. This frustration, in turn, will lead to aggression. For example, you  may deny someone access to your venue.  The individual feels that they are close to achieving their goal and they become frustrated. An argument  follows  because they have been denied access and the DS then becomes the focus of their rage.  

DS Reputations

Despite meeting all the basic requirements in dress, appearance, and social skills, the door supervisor has to cope with the negative prejudices of the patrons. Negative prejudices are defined as the hostile attitudes individuals may express towards DS because of their limited knowledge of the DS role. 

First, DS are usually expected to dress uniformly in black. It has been noted that athletes dressed in black not only viewed themselves, but others also viewed them as being more aggressive (Frank & Gilvoid 1988). To counter this problem, it might be better if the 'men in black' disappeared from the door and a different uniform and colour was introduced for all door and floor staff.

Second, Leather and Lawrence (1995) found that venues that employed door staff  created a negative influence for their venue. Customers perceived the atmosphere in such bars to be more tense and less than friendly. To counter this problem, the patron must be made aware of the changed role of the door supervisor and floorwalker. 

Third, the behaviour of one group of DS can negatively influence the attitude of patrons towards all DS. This is particularly true when the patron is not aware of the correct role of the DS. For example, in some bars the DS  gain a bad reputation because they always go in heavy handed to deal with problems. In other bars, the DS are considered useless because of their soft, humanitarian or liberal approach to dealing with problems. This is where the DS use the procedure of warning off unruly patrons before ejecting them. Some patrons may walk out of  the venue, complaining about the unruly conduct of other patrons. Today, the unruly patrons are given a chance to mend their ways before they are finally asked to leave the venue. The days of thump and dump are long gone. In these two examples, the DS have created negative attitudes in patrons. In the first example, by acting incorrectly and in the second incident, by acting correctly.

Fourth, DS can be treated as an out group. This is because their behaviour and life style is different to the general population. While the general population are relaxing and unwinding after a days work,  the DS finish their normal work and then go on to control the doors. Because of this difference, they become an isolated and vulnerable group. While carrying out their duties, DS are always being verbally and physically abused by the frustrated, drunk and evil people in society. The real source of an individual's frustration may not be available or else may be too powerful to address directly. Because of this situation, at the end of a demanding  days work,  the drunk or frustrated person attacks the DS. 

The Social Role Theory of LeVine and Campbell 1972 ( in Brewer & Crano, 1994) helps to explain the negative labeling of DS. The behaviour, role and characteristics of  DS work, in having to deal with and also be a victim of abuse,  are sometimes seen as the dispositions and characteristics of the DS themselves. This association with verbal and physical abuse is responsible for causing the formation of  hostile attitudes towards DS.  The end product of this convoluted thinking process is that all DS become labeled as abusive people. Perhaps  town councilors and leaders of the night time economy will give more public prominence to the training requirements, the standards expected and courses undertaken by DS. This can be achieved by using the resources of the local media on a regular basis.

The Emotional Roller Coaster

Introduction This section will offer a general introduction to the emotional turmoil that all experienced door staff cope with on a nightly basis. This turmoil lies, not only within the door staff, but also within the patrons they deal with. Later on, some of the subjects introduced here will be covered in more detail. At times the job of door supervisor and floor walker can be viewed as thankless. Patrons are enjoying themselves and 'winding down'. You are not enjoying yourself and definitely 'winding up'.

Short Definitions

• Stress - Reber (1985) states that stress is 'a state of psychological tension'. This tension is a result of the environmental demands placed on an individual and their perceived ability/inability to cope with these demands. Individual personal skills and experience usually dictate how that individual reacts to stressors.
• Emotion - The word emotion is derived from a Latin word meaning to move or agitate. It is a word used to describe the inner feelings of the individual under stress. For example, grief, rage, anger, happiness, joy, frustration, anxiety, and fear are all emotional responses to stress. Behaviours exhibited because of these emotions may be very similar and thus difficult to label. Because all human beings are uniquely different, it is impossible to accurately predict or measure individual inner feelings. Each individual will respond emotionally in a different way in any given situation.
• Fear - Fear is one of the human emotions. It is easier to understand when it is accepted as mental and physical distress in response to a specific threat. This distress is created by thinking about the possible problem areas and all the real dangers. Mental and physical distress then creates a psychological tension, a nervous energy that is very difficult and sometimes impossible to control.
• Anxiety - To reiterate, fear is an immediate response to a specific threat. Anxiety is an emotional feeling of dread, anticipation or apprehension that something dangerous might happen. Your response to a fearful incident will make you feel ill, sweat tremble or knot up your stomach, but only temporarily. Anxiety will make you feel like this all the time, in most cases there are no rational reasons for this state. Mild forms of anxiety will promote cautiousness (Kalat 1992).

In violent confrontations the main role of the emotional process is to take your body from neutral to Warp Factor 10 in either fight, flight or freeze. One of the ways this is achieved is by over riding the rational thinking process so that you react by instinct. This is where the fists and expletives start to fly. Incidentally, this process also helps to keep your legal eagles in Armani suits. If your emotional response to a dangerous situation is too strong, there is one other physical and mental response that will kill you, that is the freeze.

As a door supervisor, there will be no shortages in 'wind up merchants' or situations to upset your emotional stability.

• Bar staff may continually break the house rules and security precautions, leaving you to cope with irate bar managers.
• Patrons will drink too much and use this as an excuse to infringe house rules or threaten you.
• Patrons who question; your abilities, age, experience and qualifications.
• Bar managers may infringe Health and Safety, Disability Legislation and Drink Laws, leaving you to cope with it.
• You screw up on the door. e.g.. Someone bluffs their way past you and the rest of the team have to sort it out.
• You are always failing to stay one jump ahead of the bar manager and your head supervisor.

When you lose your emotional stability, this will compound your problems. At times, it may prove difficult to control your emotions. But, by remaining impersonal, assertive and non-argumentative, it is possible to maintain a professional cool. These factors will be discussed later.

There are nights when you have to deal with a whole series of problems. Each problem will have it's own emotional baggage. Always make sure that you do not carry that baggage from one problem to the next. For your own sanity and protection it is imperative that you remain as neutral as possible. It is equally important that you do not carry the emotional baggage from one night to the next. Interacting with patrons using last nights bad mind set will only lead to more grief.

Stress

'I woke up this morning, that was my first mistake' (Anon)

For some individuals, getting out of bed in the morning is a major stressor, only to be followed by more stressors as the day goes on. To reiterate, stress is 'a state of psychological tension'. This tension is a result of the environmental demands placed on an individual and their perceived ability/inability to cope with these demands. Individual personal skills and experience usually dictate how that individual reacts to stressors.

There are two forms of stressor, Mental and Physical. Mental stressors will cause mental and then physical stress. Physical stressors will cause physical stress and then go on to cause mental stress.

Positive and Negative Stress Behaviours

All stressors can adversely affect you both mentally and physically. Because of this, it follows that if you prepare both your body and mind to cope with the four groups of stressors, your reactions will be more positive. Stress will accelerate your thinking processes, this is a good reason why you should not eliminate fear. The accelerated thinking can result in you making the correct decision in a dangerous situation. When the stress is too intense you will make poor decisions.

When your basic and continuation training involves the use of reality based scenarios, your reactions on the job will have a much higher probability of being positive. Here you follow the correct procedures, identify the threat and respond within a legal framework that keeps you safe.

If you are confronted by a frightening situation that you have not prepared for, there is a high probability that your response will be negative. That is, you either over react or fail to initiate behaviour that would reduce the threat.

Despite the best training in the world, there will be occasions where you totally 'lose the plot'. Fear, anxiety, physical and mental exhaustion will cause you to make a bad decision.

Fear - The Psychological Explanation

I will start by defining fear as an individual response to an incident that they perceive as dangerous. The 'science' of psychology has yet to explain how you experience fear. As always, psychology is much more successful at cataloguing and describing our general reactions to dangerous situations. It is not clear to the psychologists if fear is:

• A physical reaction, without thinking, to the immediate danger in front of you.
• Thinking about your physical reactions induces an emotional response to the immediate danger in front of you.
• A mixture of both the above.

In order to describe fear it has been split into four elements (Rosenhan & Seligman 1995). Because fear is such an intense personal experience, it does not follow that these elements can be expressed in a predictable manner. The same type of incident can have different effects on the same individual on different occasions. An individual who backs you up on one occasion cannot be depended upon in a similar occasion.

From the DS perspective, here are some examples that explain the four elements of fear.

Mental - Something happens on the door and you think, "I'm going to get hurt here" the resulting spurt of fear will induce you to make a quick positive response. If there is too much fear you will be unable to think rationally, you will either freeze or over react. This element also includes, worry, confusion, poor concentration and feeling ill.

Physical - The emotion of fear will cause your body to change, both internally and externally. In some instances these changes will occur instantly and you may be unaware of the change. This includes, the shakes, weak legs, rapid breathing, dry mouth, sweating and awareness of your rapid heart beat. In order to get rid of excess baggage for the flight, you may vomit, or experience the desire to urinate/instant urination or the desire to crap/instant bowel evacuation

Emotional - You experience feelings of dread, terror or butterflies in your stomach. Consider the following scenario; You report in for work at 8 p.m. and the first thing the bar manager says to you is, "Hello, there are three guys in here drinking since midday. They were barred three months ago for fighting and they refuse to leave, sort it out". If you don't need a change of underpants after this greeting you are not normal.

Behavioural - The behavioural factors include fight, flight or freeze. You may talk rapidly,bite your nails, tap your feet, yawn, and twitch. There are at least five courses of behaviour to follow when you are faced with a frightening scenario.

• First, you can predict the problem and leave the scene before it kicks off.
• Second, when the situation goes ballistic, you can leave the scene.
• Third, you can predict the outcome and preempt it with a well placed palm heel.
• Fourth, you respond to the attack as it occurs and defend yourself.
• Fifth, the fear is so overwhelming that you freeze, both physically and mentally and take a kicking.

Considering the fact that you are a DS with responsibilities to others, are any of these options viable? Only one! (The Third Option) Preemptive strikes can be interpreted as assault but they are the only viable reaction when you are in fear of your personal safety. Leaving the scene equates with cowardice and finally self defence and freezing are termed passive, a state that will get you killed. When it comes to dealing with violence, the basic guide lines are usually ambiguous. It is up to the DS to deal with dangerous situations and then the hospitals and legal systems to deal with the consequences. At the end of the day, the DS have to stand their ground, take all the verbal crap, talk down the threat and still stand their ground. Rules of Engagement, Preemptive Strikes and Actions On Different Incidents will be covered later.

Fear - The Four Elements Combined

Fear is one of the human emotional responses to stress. Fear is good, "it steers you away from danger" (Kalat 1992). It is easier to understand when it is accepted as mental and physical distress in response to a specific threat. This distress is created by thinking about the possible problem areas and all the real dangers. Mental and physical distress then creates a psychological tension, a nervous energy that is very difficult and sometimes impossible to control. For example, before any boxing match, boxers will experience the physical effects of their mental turmoil. The fear of physical pain, humiliation, or losing the fight can induce bowel movements, which increase in frequency. There can also be incidences of nervous laughter, sick grins, stomach cramps, vomiting, sweating or trembling. Have you ever noticed how some boxers come down to the ring soaked in sweat. Have they physically exerted themselves too much before the fight or is it pre fight nerves?

Physical Tension    Paradoxically, this nervous energy is also an essential aid to individual survival. The total control of fear is neither necessary, nor desirable. The nervous energies created by fear will tense up the whole body and prepare it for either the fight or the escape. When the human body is slightly tense, it can respond much faster than a relaxed body.
Physical tension also prepares the body for the impact of the opponent's attack. Simultaneously, fear will increase the individual pain threshold. This allows the body to cope with more trauma than normal. Blood flow to the surface of the skin is reduced. Because of this, bleeding from body wounds is also reduced.

Focused Attention   As well as physical tension, fear will induce mental tension. The combatants will be mentally focused on the source of the problem and will be operating with a limited level of consciousness. Their attention will be directed straight towards the source of the threat. In this state, they will be unable to hear or respond to advice or other stimuli from any source. This state is termed auditory exclusion. Combatants will also be incapable of  changing their game plans when things start to go wrong. They will also be unable to see any activity that takes place outside their direct view. One indicator of this combination of increased and focused awareness is the fact that the event appears to be taking place in slow motion.

This is how Focused Attention will affect your judgment. Notice how the solid side panel looks similar to the open door. While using the fire escape to eject a violent patron, it was easy to mistake the panel for the door, honestly. After slamming the patron into the 'door',  several times you will begin to think, "Oh dear, the door will not open for me". Long before the sentence is finished, your 8 seconds are up and the patron's friends will arrive and beat the crap out of you.

Your practical training programme must also include ways of coping with the limiting mind set of focused attention. Learn to expand your consciousness during training so that you can see and hear much more than the direct threat and become  more capable of amending your game plan to cope with the unexpected.. When you are dealing with the immediate threat, there may be other threats on the periphery of your conscious awareness that you should be paying attention to.

The Adrenaline Trap    Either through fear or anger, people are caught in the Adrenaline Trap. This is because the adrenaline rush will move your body from neutral to Warp Factor 10 in either fight, flight or freeze. With these survival hormones flying through their body, people are rendered incapable of coherent, rational thought. This is  because the more primitive areas of the brain, the Reptile Brain,  start to operate in these stressful situations. In this state, their sole intent is to survive the incident. They are prepared to pummel, kick and kill the object they are mentally locked onto. Humanitarianism and rational thought have now disappeared into the 'red mist' of either total rage or fear. These finer traits will only be resurrected later on by their legal representatives and friends who will ask, "What possessed you?" 

The Freeze   'The Freeze' can occur when an individual is unable to cope with a frightening experience and  remains passive while they are assaulted. For example, terrorists in Ireland have found that it is usually a waste of time questioning/interrogating victims before they are killed. Once the victim knows they are going to die, they freeze mentally, become impervious to pain and passively wait for death.  It appears that some South American countries have found a way around this, it involves the use of electricity. 

There will also be occasions when your back up fails to come to your aid and simply freezes while you take a kicking. 

The freeze can also occur when you have accumulated too much knowledge. If you are spoiled for choice in selecting a technique that will extract you from a dangerous situation, there may be a tendency to simply freeze rather than reacting positively.  Having a small repertoire of techniques that can be adapted to suit any situation is much easier to utilise than the application of a specific response to a specific attack. 

There are also some individuals who are  so good natured and kind that they are totally incapable of resorting to physical violence, even in their own defense. When faced with a violent situation, they are incapable of acting violently in order to protect themselves, so they simply freeze. 

Training programmes must be used in order to weed out people who freeze. It will prove lethal to employ someone in potentially dangerous situations if that person shows no potential for reacting positively.

The Red Mist of Rage   Check out the brain dead TV shows that manipulate the emotions of others until it spills over into the 'red mist' of the Adrenaline Trap. First, the stage is set with nose to nose confrontation between couples. Next, one of the individuals is publicly humiliated by the other. Their emotional response to this humiliation is predictable. Notice how it is relatively easy to separate the combatants because of their Focused Attention and Adrenaline Trap responses. They are so focused on destroying each other it is safe to come in from the back, or side and separate them. With a few tragic exceptions, this 'red mist' is dissipated almost immediately and the combatants can be brought together again to rationalise their problems in a civilized manner.

A well known tactic used by bar staff who operate without floor supervisors and some police officers, is to allow the initial mad and bad 8 seconds of a fist fight to go on. After that, the adrenaline rush drops and the bar staff or police officers can move in to take control of the situation. Reason does return to the mind of the adrenaline exhausted fighters and they are quite happy to be separated, in most cases.

The task of the door supervisor is keep the primitive form of Adrenaline Trap behaviour from surfacing. Both in themselves and in others. Legal systems demand a reasonable and minimum amount of force but this demand will not be met if reason is the other piece of baggage to go along with your bowel contents in a stressful situation. Lose the plot and you lose the fight.

The Shakes The natural reaction of the body to dangerous situations is the fight-or-flight emergency response. (Ornstein & Carstensen 1991) This is achieved through the release of many hormones, including adrenaline. An increase in adrenaline levels will cause an increase in blood flow to the brain and muscles. This chain of events has the effect of increasing your strength and energy. An explosive energy that can cause different parts of the body to shake. Either the lips, legs, voice, trunk or hands may be affected. The shakes may have 3 sources. (Frijda 1989 p. 139 & 153)

• First, trembling may result from the physical fatigue of tensing up the body in order to absorb physical/verbal abuse.
• Second, it may be the result of trying to control or suppress the physical activity created by the released energy.
• Third, it may be the unbridled release of the raw energy in the initial fight or flight response.

The third source is supported by Richardson (1978). The shakes may be a "rapid involuntary muscular reaction" (p.110) The purpose of the shakes is to warm up the body in preparation for action.  Notice how some men have the habit of shuddering at the shoulders after urinating on a cold day.  The rapid heat loss through urination will cause this involuntary shudder. It has the same purpose as that induced by fear, to heat up the body.

Your aim in any situation is to channel and manage this raw energy in order to stop it from peaking. If this energy level peaks, without a fight, the shakes will set in and you will be incapable of reacting positively. You must also stop the opponents energy from peaking in what is termed the 'Adrenal Dump'. If an opponent is allowed to peak their energy, they will be impervious to pain or reasoning. Your role is to stay verbal and non-threatening as long as possible so as not to induce the adrenal dump. 

Pressure Point Tactics   Pressure Point tactics and verbal interaction is usually applied as a form of minimum force in order to gain the oppositions compliance. If you are applying pressure point tactics or pain compliance restraints, ensure they are applied for a limited period. A second only in some cases will be sufficient in order to gain control. Any longer than that will encourage the adrenal dump in the opposition. As you use physical contact on the opposition, you must also talk to the opposition. The physical contact will cause a rush in adrenalin. By talking to the individual you will induce fear and flight rather than freeze or fight. When pressure point tactics fail, it is an indicator that an adrenalin dump has taken place in the opposition. Under these circumstances, you have to change your tactics. Either stop and deescalate the force you are using, or else escalate the physical  force by applying strikes to other pressure points.

Complex Motor Skill Loss The effects of The Shakes, the Adrenaline Trap and Focused Attention will not only stop rational thought. They also stop the operation of fine motor skills. Complex skills learned in the dojo will not operate when the more primitive areas of the brain are activated during a stressful incident. Instead of constructing three or four stages into one movement, you will be limited to basic sets of moves, either one-one or one-two, one-two. For example, countering a punch in the dojo may involve; parry, wrist grab, straight arm bar and trip. In reality the primitive mind set will only allow a short immediate response, an instinctive duck and palm heel jab. As a door supervisor you must train so that your fear based responses involve the minimum amount of force and the minimum amount of complexity.

Coping With Stress, Fear and Anxiety

In my approach and experience, there are three aspects to stress, fear and anxiety management. I have called it a management process because it is virtually impossible and undesirable to control any of these conditions in relation to violence.

First, you do not want to eliminate your immediate response to danger. If anything, you want to sharpen your perceptions of potential dangers. A heightened awareness of the danger will eliminate pain and also help you to respond to and escape from dangerous situations.

Second, you want to train your body repeatedly in simple one step drills. These drills must be based on countering typical threats you will experience on the job. This way, when the danger presents itself, there is a better opportunity for the learned subconscious behaviour to over ride the bodies crude and sometimes legally inappropriate response. Subconscious behaviour??.. Reach down and undo your shoe lace.. Immediately do up your shoe lace.. Now undo your shoe lace and then tie up your shoe lace again, thinking about the sequence you are using. Which takes longer? Did you really have to think about a simple drill you carry out without thinking about on a daily basis? Just the same as driving a vehicle and changing gears, you just do it.

Some theorists state that it would take thousands of repetitions in order for a physical response to become a subconscious act. But, after at least two hundred repetitions of a simple response something else happens. That response may not become ingrained enough to become a subconscious act. These repetitions will build up a simple closed loop in the brain where you consciously perform the act when required. The memory loop covers muscle memory and knowledge as well as limited experience in the application. That's enough to get you out of an 'O Fcuk' situation.

Third, you must learn to anticipate all the dangers facing in your role as a door supervisor. Working on this training programme will not only prepare you for fear responses, it will also inoculate you from the anxieties the job produces. You may not have the training time that allows you to react to an incident subconsciously. But, the mere fact that you have practiced a drill at all, means that you will have an experience to fall back on or adapt in order to deal with the situation.

Unless this approach is based on realistically tested techniques, it will encourage false confidence and lead to total failure.

Real Street Fighting Experience

The following notes are based on personal experience. They are included here in order to give you some idea of what it is like to be in a street fight. 

Winning Scenario When there is time, you have a sudden burst of fear. This is rapidly replaced by another experience of 'I've been here before'.  In this state, you experience an intense silence and everything appears to be happening in slow time. Perhaps this has been created through a combination of fear, adrenalin and the activation of the reptile brain. Your punches and kicks don't feel strong, they lack speed, and you can't feel them connecting strongly. Every move you make is on Auto Pilot, you are there to feel the flow and find an opening and survive. 

There will be a series of blank spots in your conscious awareness of what is happening.  This, for me, this appears to be the constant shifting between conscious awareness of what I am actually doing, an analysis what I should be doing coupled along with  lapses into fighting from instinct. You know you are being hit because your head is bouncing about, there are bursts of stars and your ears start ringing and exploding. Your screwed up shoulder throw turns into a head butt to the temple. It works, his head slips through your hands as he goes down. Before he hits the deck you are off running. You will relive and analyse the experience for weeks.

Losing Scenario 'I've been here before'. The house bricks are coming in fast. You turn to run away and the ground leaps up and smacks you in the face. You are unable to move as you hear them running up. You know you are being kicked because your head and body are bouncing around. Hopefully it will end quickly. The first time you wake up you are talking to a cop. The next time you wake up you are talking to the nurse stitching up your head. The third time you wake up in agony. You are talking to the cops who are taking you back to your ship.  You will relive and analyse the experience for weeks.

These incidents and similar ones are over 35 years old and are much easier to recall than any previous or subsequent judo, karate or boxing bouts. There is a lot of anxiety connected to sport fighting. There is absolutely no anxiety attributable to the sudden street fight, just a quick stab of fear to get you going.

Aggression and Violence (Another Losing Scenario)

Aggression is defined by Reber (1985) as a general term used for "a wide variety of acts that involve attack, hostility, etc." (p 18). 

Baron (1977) further defines aggression as words or actions whose intent is to hurt another. From these definitions it can be seen that words, facial expression, stance and language can be seen as aggressive. Direct physical attacks can be classed as violence.

All aggressive and violent behaviour usually have an induced or motivational source. These sources include:

• Altruistic sacrifice
• Maternal instinct
• Paternal instinct
• Hostile intent
• Anger release
• Instrumental intent
• Fear reaction
• Drug induced
• Alcohol induced
• Pathological disposition
• Manipulative personality (Psychopath)
• Influential

Altruistic Paternal or maternal violence is used by an individual in order to protect others.

The most common form of violence you will have to face as a DS will be anger orientated. Separating an individual from their electric soup or their friends or denying them access to your venue will inevitably evoke angry violence.

Fear induced violence can be expressed when you take someone down on their back in order to restrain them. The individual lying on their back, surrounded by 'men in black' will start to kick up, punch, spit and bite at anything coming within range. If you do have to take someone down to restrain them, always try it from their rear. Only go as far as getting them in the kneeling position. This procedure will protect you from the fear induced strikes and bites. It may also lower the incidence of the 'death in custody' syndrome and positional aspyxiation which can occur in the application of face down restraints.

If you have to use violence, let it be instrumental, a controlled aggressive act with a specific goal. The goal will be the compliance of the subject with your demands. This is done to protect you, others or property when all other means have failed or may be inappropriate under the circumstances.

Hostile or pathological violence is used by individuals who have 'lost the plot' and are intent on punishing someone for the sheer hell of the act. Using this form of violence is both morally and legally wrong. For example:

•  After the incident has been neutralised and there is no longer a threat 
•  Using it to get even with a 'wind up merchant' 

(The Losing Scenario)  A man in the bar verbally insults and then physically attacks his wife by throwing drink at her because she refused to fcuk off   (Pathological hatred). You ask your partner to cover your back while you go forward to rush the perp out the nearest exit (Instrumental). After the initial 8 second rush, your focused attention causes you to mistake the solid unmovable side panel for the actual door and you grand plan slams to a halt. The angry patron  turns on you and starts punching out (Fear).

His seven drunken friends all leap in and start attacking you and your back up (Altruistic, Pathological, Angry, Drunk). You cover up and jam your two attackers to the wall with your forearms on their throat. Their weakened punches are hitting the top of your skull. After a few seconds you feel the power going out of the punches so you break away and look for your back up. Hitting out at the two individuals who had finished attacking you,  and were now exhausted from their exertions, would  have been classed as assault.

You now go to your back up who is still being attacked and intervene (Altruistic, Instrumental). The attackers all leave the bar before the police arrive. The incident  lasted  less than one minute. Overall, not a bad outcome for one night. Eight  ass holes barred for life from entering the premises and the two DS are labeled  hard bastards for facing them in the first place. Incidentally, no matter what label you hang on the violence, all the punches hurt. 

After over 35 years of street fighting and martial arts dabbling I find that winning or losing street fights take second place to surviving  street  fights.

Monkey See - Monkey Do

When people in a crowd observe others carrying out illicit acts, and these acts go unchallenged, they are more likely to ape that behaviour. This behaviour has been labeled social contagion (Le Bon G. 1895).

There are many forms of social contagion. Of particular interest to the DS are the contagions of aggressive acts and rule violation. For example, a floor walker observes a person smoking in a non smoking zone. The walker fails to remind this person that they are in a non smoking area. You can be sure that within a few minutes of this behaviour starting, there will be more smokers lighting up, with the situation out of your control.

As soon as a house rule is violated, the crowd must observe you correcting the problem. When illicit behaviour is challenged, it is less likely to be imitated by others.

For example, one of the bar staff approaches you and says, 'I've asked a man to stop smoking in the no smoking zone. He says what about all the others smoking and refused to stop. Can you sort it'. You go around the area informing everyone that they are in a no smoking zone and they must extinguish their cigarettes. Every other smoker sees this happening and start to extinguish their cigarettes, long before you reach them. This includes the original non-conformer. You go up to him and pat him on the shoulder, with a smile on your face, and the whole group burst out laughing. Another potential confrontation has been averted. It should have been avoided in the first instance by stopping the first smoker from lighting up.

Social contagion also takes place in fighting incidents. When one person lifts a stool or bottle during a fight there is an increased probability that the others involved in the fight will ape this behaviour. This will escalate the situation. You must identify the main players and then attempt to neutralise the threat. This is best done by getting the team in between the main players and either disarming them or ordering them to wise up and wind down. If this does not happen you are now fully committed to a fighting situation. In many incidents where improvised weapons are involved, it is caused by fear and over reaction by one or both parties. Your direct intervention can offer protection and cover to the individuals who are behaving out of fear for their own safety. That way, by protecting this type of  individual, you stand a better chance of deescalating the situation.

A Study of Drunks

Introduction   When a new bar opens in any town or city, amongst the first customers will be individuals banned from all the other local bars. This group of drinkers are, by the World Health Organization's definition, either excessive drinkers or chronic alcoholics. They have uncontrollable drinking habits and a resulting deterioration in basic social skills. Eventually, they will misbehave and become barred from your venue. Until that happens, you will have to understand the drunk and learn how to cope with them. To that end, this section on drunks will start with a short psycho/social study of the 'down and out' drunk and finish off with methods of dealing with drunks at your venue. 

Drinking in public places and public drunkenness is a common problem in most societies. It is a problem which local authorities have failed to address adequately, therefore this study sets out to understand one side of the problem, the alcoholics themselves.

The  Initial Approach   My home town has three identifiable groups of public drinkers. The group I approached consisted of a maximum of five individuals at any one time, this included a female. This group had established a regular routine and, most important of all, the groups physical debility through their drinking habits and their inoffensive demeanor, guaranteed my physical security.

It took approximately one hour for me to gain the trust of the leader of the group, after all public drinking was an illegal act. As soon as identities were confirmed and I made my research aims quite clear, I was allowed to stay and observe for the remainder of the two hour drinking session. For the next five weeks, I dropped in on the group for at least two hours on a daily basis in order to note their behaviour patterns. These visits appeared to be random but they were designed to give me an overview of their complete daily and weekly routine from 9:30 in the morning until 11:30 in the evening. I gained further insight into the group on some occasions by simply approaching a lone member of the group and asking him where the group was. By using this tactic regularly, I learned more about the activities and whereabouts of other group members.

It was impossible to become directly involved with this group. Not only was it an illegal activity, it was also unhealthy to drink from the same bottle as individuals with a wide variety of medical problems. It was later noted that any outsiders joining this group for a drinking session usually had their own bottle and refused to share it with or accept anything from the group. From this observation, it is obvious I was dealing directly with drinkers who had reached the absolute pits. Formerly they had good jobs and stable marriages, until their drinking became a major problem. Each drinking session did follow a set pattern, so it did become easier to spot new information or else confirm old observations. This information was logged immediately after each session.

The Morning Session   Drinking sessions were held in the back alleys which were close to the most frequently used off licence. They also used the parks because of the seclusion offered by the trees. In the evenings or when it was raining, they used derelict buildings and their own houses. From Monday to Saturday, the group had a daily routine that never varied. At 9:30am the group start to meet up in the center of the town. They are usually very reticent and suffering from varying degrees of Delirium Tremens. The morning is spent begging and borrowing enough money to buy the first bottles, either cider or wine. By 11:00am the first purchase has been made and the group move to the drinking areas for the first session. The topics of conversation are centered on TV programmes, soccer, boxing, sex, food, financial problems and the occasional joke. These subjects are discussed, with no deep insight shown by any person.

The Rituals   There is an established ritual to the drinking routine. First, the bottle is opened and is passed round the group, who are standing in a circle. The conversation cross cuts the passage of the bottle. After one round of the bottle, it is set on the ground in the center of the circle until any member picks it up for a second round. A five member group will consume two cans of beer, one bottle of wine and one bottle of cider between them in the two hour drinking session.

The session always starts off with nondescript chat which becomes more enlivened as the session goes on, but then it slows down near the end of the session. The beer and cider are usually mixed together. The normal procedure is for the individual with the steadiest hands to carry out this duty. The same individual is also employed to roll the cigarettes. This is accomplished from the kneeling position, the individual rests his elbows on his thighs for extra stability. The tobacco is obtained by clearing ashtrays and picking up all butts/stubs/stogies.

During the sessions, the members urinate within sight of the bottle but defecate out of sight. The defecation points are noted for their puddles of excrement. This is caused by their gastric stomach conditions and liquid diet. The other most notable physical problems are the scarring , cuts and abrasions to the upper portion of their faces. This is caused by striking their foreheads and cheeks during their numerous falls while intoxicated.

The Afternoon Session   The afternoon session starts at 3:00pm and lasts for two hours. After that the group breaks up. One of the chronic alcoholics stays in the town center until 11:00pm and the remainder go home. There is no advantage to be gained by staying in the town center with no-one to beg or borrow from.

On Sundays, the group have an alternative routine. This is because there is no-one to beg or borrow from in the town center. Most of the group clean themselves up and visit their relatives for Sunday dinner, some cash and a bag of groceries to help them through the coming week.

Financial Resources   The exception to their daily routine of the 11:00pm start, occurs when one of the group receives their government cheque. On that occasion the drinking starts at 9:30pm, after the cheque is cashed at the local off licence. The drink purchased with this cheque is shared between the group. By 11:30am this session is over and the group is off again begging and borrowing to finance the 3:00pm session.

There is a large discrepancy between the fortnightly government cheque and the sixfold amount they spend on drink each fortnight. Further observations noted that this is made up through begging and borrowing on a daily basis. All their available cash goes on the purchase of alcohol. Food is supplied by friends or else stolen. On one occasion, an individual had to run past a supermarket entrance because earlier he had stolen his weekly supply of bread. Another member of the group had been banned from entering the local chemists because he would, on a bad day, stand and drink the after shave. On one occasion they berated me  for buying them cigarette tobacco. I was informed that their source of tobacco was from picked up butts/stogies and dust bins. My money should have been spent on alcohol.

Psychological/Sociological Interpretation   Reciprocity, or sharing, was their most salient ritual observed in this study, in both the procuring and the consumption of drink. I confirmed this reciprocity on one occasion. I presented two members with a can of beer each. One can was opened and shared and the other can was pocketed for future sharing. Inextricably linked to this ritual is the goal, that is, drinking. After each session, all behaviour is directed to obtaining more drink.

I did get beyond the blind acceptance of their idealised delusion of reciprocity and noted that, on many occasions this ideal was breached. On some occasions the government cheques were cashed but half the money was held back for personal use. On another occasion, the individual did not surface until he had spent all the cash on himself. No sanctions take place for these lapses because the culprit is still a future source of revenue.

All participants were capable of articulating their understanding and perception of how the general public perceived them, e.g., 'A bunch of drunks', but they qualify this by stating that they are unable to stop drinking. There is a need in complex society for "regularity, precision, individual responsibility and integration through self control and cooperation" (Bacon 1970). The subculture in this study have demonstrated that the majority of these values can be perverted for the procurement and sharing of alcohol.

The social structure of this group appears to be similar to the Skid-Row subculture described by Rubington (1962), who referred to the "bottle gang relationship". He found that a social relationship existed and was based on easy access to the group. It was the procuring, sharing and drinking from the same bottle which governed the bottle gangs conduct.

Most towns are caught in a spiral of deviance amplification, with "Drinking Prohibited" notices appearing regularly where the bottle gangs congregate. Future studies into public drinking and drunkenness would benefit if the views of local politicians were included, especially their views on the Seattle study by Spradley (1970). That study has shown the ineffectiveness of criminalising public drunkenness and the benefits of detoxification programmes.

The Bar Fly

As a door supervisor you will be confronted by individuals suffering from all the different levels of intoxication and dependence on alcohol. At a new venue that has not weeded out all the obvious drunks and trouble makers, you will have to recognise the more subtle activities of those who have escaped the immediate banning. Some of their moves are obvious, such as going to the toilet and returning with a glass of beer stolen from another table. The lone alcoholic will usually seat or stand themselves either close to the venue entrance, where there is a high volume of patrons walking past or at the bar where patrons have to buy their drink. From these positions he/she is ideally situated to either greet or bid farewell to all the patrons. This is the first stage of begging for drink. They will remain in position all night with some beer in their glass until they trap a sucker for a drink. Some patrons are so expertly conned or drunk, they do not realize they have parted with their hard earned cash. It is only when the individual becomes a pest through persistent begging that they have to be escorted off the premises. In some cases, individuals are quite successful at this art and you will fail to detect them for weeks.

Dealing With Drunks

Most of the people you come into contact with as a DS will be either 'under the influence' of drink or drugs or a combination of both. At many venues you will be in a situation where young people are experimenting with all forms of legal and illegal substances, including alcohol. The side effects of experimenting with alcohol include throwing up, fighting and irrational/immature behaviour. You can reduce your workload by ensuring that there are no underage drinkers in your venue at any time and by keeping a more vigilant watch on the younger drinkers. All degrees of drunkenness are dangerous conditions, not only for you but for everyone else.  Consider this table of  statistics from the Health Promotion Agency (NI, 2002), where alcohol has been estimated to be a factor in:

• 25% of roads deaths
• 30% of  drowning accidents
• 30% of murders
• 33% of accidents in the home
• 39% of deaths in fires
• 40% of incidents of domestic violence
• 44% of theft charges
• 45% of wounding and assault cases
• 88% of criminal damage arrests

Assessing Drunkenness

Degrees of intoxication is difficult to gauge. One of the reasons for this is that drunkenness is relative to:

1. Body weight, the heavier the body the more drink it takes to achieve drunkenness.
2. The amount of drink consumed and the strength of the alcohol in that drink.
3. The sex of the individual. Females will become intoxicated much faster than males. Compared to men, their body weight, water content and metabolism are all different. 
4. The amount of food consumed both before and during the drinking session. This food will slow down the rate of alcohol entering the blood stream. Note that it is a slow down only and also note that nothing can be ingested that will  speed up the elimination of alcohol from the blood stream.
5. The state of your liver. It takes a healthy liver at least one hour to breakdown and eliminate the equivalent of a small glass of wine or one bottle of beer. (Health Education Authority, UK. 1996)

As a general rule, anyone who drinks more than either one bottle of wine or eight bottles of beer becomes a menace. The faster a person drinks, the quicker they will become drunk. This is because they are drinking faster than their liver can eliminate the alcohol from their body.  Food may slow down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream but nothing you ingest can speed up the elimination of that alcohol. A high volume of drink will induce the following types of observable behaviour;

• Slurred speech. The speech centers are located on the cortex. Alcohol directly affects the whole area of the cortex.
• Inability to focus eyes
• Inability to stay awake. Alcohol is a mental and physical depressant
• Stumbling gait/Poor balance/Inability to stand still. Alcohol affects the inner ear balance system and also delays the messages from the brain to the legs.
• Poor physical coordination and slow reaction times. Unable to sit down in a chair or light a cigarette.
• Slow response to any questions
• Limited reasoning ability. The drunk feels they are in total command of their body. They feel superior to you, both physically and mentally.
• Immunity to pain
• Sudden mood swings/Amplified emotions
• Verbally abusive
• Paranoid to the extent that everything you say to the individual is misconstrued as an insult
• Lowered inhibitions. More liable to argue, fight, urinate, defecate, cry etc. in public view
• More frequent visits to the toilet. Alcohol will reduce the capacity of the kidneys to retain liquid

What makes all 'drunks' dangerous scumbags to handle is the fact that alcohol attacks and anesthetizes the fore brain. This part of the brain is responsible for all aspects of learning, judgment and the regulation of behaviour (Scarf 1976 p.87). In reality this means that you are faced by scum without a shred of either humanity or compassion. They have no moral or ethical guidelines in operation that stop them from jumping all over your head when they feel like doing just that. It does not matter if they are from either high or low society, they will all kick just as hard. You will be in even more danger if the patrons using your venue are former convicts, thieves and trash rejected from every other drinking den in town. When these sort of social cretins get drunk, your life is on the line if you screw up your risk assessment. There is very little difference between drunks and psychopaths. Neither group have any compassion or the ability to empathise with others. All their actions are motivated towards satisfying their own needs. The psychopath may use a certain amount of deviousness to manipulate others in order to achieve their objectives and the drunk will just blunder on. 

Your first task when you go on duty is to go through the bar and identify under age drinkers, drunks and barred individuals, who all have to be removed.  Always try to identify the degree of intoxication of all patrons at your venue and then get them off the premises before they become a danger. There are several reasons for this. For example, in the UK alone half the pedestrians killed in road accidents have dangerously high alcohol levels in their blood (HEA UK 1996). Try to identify the degree of intoxication by;

• Observing the amount of bottles and glasses on the table
• Talk to them and note their response for speed and slurring, any stupid question will do, you are assessing their response not engaging them in a liberating discourse.
• Observe their general demeanor
• Ask the bar staff which patrons has been in all day.

For the floor supervisor there are two stages of drunkenne