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NEWS.com.au
- Australia
- Saturday, 25
April 2009
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Bouncers deserted me: bash victim
A BASHING victim wants
security doormen in Northbridge to break up violence
outside venues.
- She was
attacked outside a nightclub by the same women who had
assaulted her in the club minutes earlier - and in front
of the doormen who had thrown them out.
 The
woman - who asked to be known only as Fiona - her sister
and other friends were in the Paramount club in James St
in the early hours of Sunday. She said they had been in
the club for only a few minutes when they were attacked
by another group of women.
Fiona said she and her sister were thrown out of the
club but complained to doormen that the attackers were
still inside.
She identified them, they were also thrown out and they
attacked her and her sister again.
As they walked away they were set upon a third time.
She is upset that club doormen did nothing to help.
``I'm concerned that the security guys didn't help,''
she said. ``They didn't want to get involved.
Nobody was protecting us even though we were only
centimetres from them (the doormen).
``The girls came straight out and hit me. I was
literally right in front of two of the doormen when I
got attacked.
``My point is that the security was there, they saw what
happened but did nothing to protect us because they
couldn't risk getting involved.
``There should be some laws that allow them to help in
cases like this.''
Fiona said the attacks, which left her with black eyes,
and both her and her sister with bruising and scratches,
were unprovoked.
After the last attack a friend waved down a police
vehicle and two women were arrested. The women, aged 19
and 21, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court charged with
assault occasioning actual bodily harm. They are due to
appear again next month.
Mike Dyer, president of the Security Agents Institute of
WA, said: ``Doormen have got just as much power as any
other citizen, but they are outside their jurisdiction
if they take action outside the premises where they are
employed.
``When there is an altercation in a club they have a
duty of care to patrons and the owner. If there's
trouble they get it outside.''
He claimed doormen were often the first to be blamed if
a problem erupted on the street.
``They run a very real risk of being charged by police
and if they are convicted they cannot work in the
industry,'' he said. ``Most crowd controllers are told
to keep their nose out of it, leave it to the police.''
Police Minister Rob Johnson said it was the
responsibility of police to handle assaults in the
public arena.
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