Licensed Venue, Unlicensed Door Staff
You are the crowd controller supervisor for a 2,400-capacity licensed music venue. At 20:40 on a Saturday, the head of security tells you that six of the fourteen door staff rostered tonight have not arrived, and the agency has sent four replacements who hold no crowd controller licence for this jurisdiction. The venue's licence condition requires a minimum of twelve licensed crowd controllers on the floor for events above 1,500 capacity. Doors opened at 20:00 and 1,100 patrons are already inside. The promoter is pressing to keep admitting the 900-strong queue outside, arguing that the replacements are 'experienced and just waiting on paperwork'. Your own licence is the one the regulator will examine if something goes wrong. The general manager is off-site and unreachable for the next hour.
1. What should you do in the next fifteen minutes, and on what legal and professional basis?
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The controlling fact is the licence condition: twelve licensed controllers are required above 1,500 capacity, and you have eight licensed staff (fourteen minus six absent) plus four unlicensed replacements. Admitting more patrons would breach a condition of the venue licence and place your own licence at risk.
Immediate actions:
- Stop admissions at the door and instruct the queue controller to hold the line. This is the only lever that prevents the breach from worsening.
- Notify the duty manager and the police/licensing authority as the licence requires for a staffing shortfall. Document the time of the call and the name of the officer.
- Redeploy the four unlicensed replacements to non-regulated roles (water station, queue information, staff welfare) where they are not performing crowd control functions, and record that decision.
- Record everything contemporaneously - roster, arrivals, agency name, times, instructions given.
You should not accept the promoter's argument. 'Waiting on paperwork' is not a licence, and the professional duty is to the public and to the licence, not the night's takings. If admissions resume, it should be only after licensed numbers reach twelve, verified by sighting each licence.
2. The promoter directs you to admit the queue anyway and says he will 'wear the fine'. How do you respond, and what do you do if he overrides you?
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A fine is not the only consequence. Breaching a licence condition can lead to suspension or revocation of the venue licence, personal disciplinary action against licensed controllers, and, if an injury occurs, exposure to prosecution and to civil liability. The promoter cannot consent on your behalf to your committing an offence or breaching a professional obligation.
Response:
- State plainly and briefly that you will not authorise admission while the licensed ratio is unmet, and that this is a licence condition, not a preference.
- Offer the alternative that protects the event: hold the queue, call the agency for the missing six, and set a review point (e.g. 21:15) at which you reassess.
- Put the instruction and your refusal in writing (radio log, incident book, or text to the duty manager) at the time.
If he overrides you by instructing door staff directly:
- Do not physically obstruct him; that escalates and creates its own risk.
- Escalate immediately to the duty manager and the licensing authority/police, and record the override.
- Consider whether you can continue in your role; if the breach is ongoing and unsafe, you may need to withdraw your licence presence and notify the regulator, because remaining may imply you are supervising an unlawful operation.
The judgement being tested is that your licence is personal and non-delegable.