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Nightclubs, bars and clubs: is enough being done to keep minors out?

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this piece are not a reflection of the views of Paw Prints as a whole. They are the sole views of the author. Paw Prints Weekly celebrates a diverse audience and staff, and it supports the declaration of duties and rights of a Journalist per the U.S. Constitution.

With more and more shooters, criminals and drug smugglers targeting nightclubs and bars, it is now imperative to increase security and safety measures and the proper steps in preventing underage teens from performing illicit activities need to be taken.

All in all, security and safety measures should be increased, as kids get smarter and smarter, by using fake  

identification, makeup or other methods of sneaking in.

First, one of the most important risks that people face in nightclubs are firearms and mass shootings. Terrorists often like to target places that attract a lot of people, making nightclubs an ideal area to attack. For instance, one of the most recent shootings occurred at a nightclub in Las Vegas, which ended up with one killed and one injured. 

In this case, armed guards can help a lot because just seeing a deadly weapon makes people think twice about doing crimes and such. Armed officers are also trained professionals and can handle many situations in the club. Nowadays, as Americans buy more guns, it is not uncommon for people at nightclubs to potentially carry a firearm. They can also secure fire exits, as people can sneak in from there.

Second, owners should have proper ID scans and background checks for everyone going in and out of the club. According to Health, risk, society, one of the data collected from 2099 patrons concluded that over 20 percent of the people there were students or minors. Anyone with any type of criminal record should not be allowed access to public entertainment venues like nightclubs, and repeat offenders should be banned completely. With this change, people’s safety will be taken into account to prevent further incidents. 

Furthermore, owners should also have officers inside the club to prevent violent acts such as fights or brawls. The experiment collected data from 1,642 patrons comprising 615 social drinking groups as they entered and exited nightclubs in a major U.S. city. All social groups had at least one member who experienced sexual aggression. Also, more than two-thirds of the groups had at least one member who experienced physical aggression.    

With the presence of authority, officers being present in clubs would also help to reduce the chances of minors drinking alcohol, as underage drinking is extremely detrimental to teenage development. Minors do not understand the risk that comes with alcohol, and can potentially do things that can harm them or their family. After all, there is a reason why there are age restrictions for drinking. According to a 2022 youth drinking survey, 17 percent of eighth-graders, 29 percent of 10th-graders and 47% of 12th-graders have drunk alcohol. Some of the more serious effects of underage drinking include school problems, depression and suicide.

Nightclubs should also institute capacity limits as overcrowded areas could allow more illicit acts to slip under the radar. In order to keep minors and adults safe, nightclubs should strictly focus on safety and security issues, to help protect minors that sneak into nightclubs. They can also just remove alcohol and other adult events and allow minors to enter, but that would just defeat the purpose of entertainment for adults at nightclubs.

To conclude, nightclubs should instead focus more on reinforcing and improving safety regulations instead of focusing more on expanding their entertainment empires. By doing this, it will not only help reduce safety issues but also reduce the number of dangers for minors in bars like these.

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