At a conference in the Irish city of Cork, police officers from several European countries voted unanimously for a ban on the use of glass containers in nightclubs.
Accident and Emergency doctors hav…
At a conference in the Irish city of Cork, police officers from several European countries voted unanimously for a ban on the use of glass containers in nightclubs. Accident and Emergency doctors have also backed the proposal. Cork hospital A&E consultant Dr Chris Luke describing it as “a vital step in reducing severe injuries”. The recommendation was put forward on 25 October 2005 at a conference of European police forces. The recommendation will now go before the EU Commission“s Justice and Home Affairs Department which will consider turning it into law. The AGIS conference for EU police and judicial cooperation heard from medical experts and saw images of the injuries inflicted by attackers using broken glasses and bottles. Jos Koehorst, an inspector from Holland who proposed the motion, said the use of glasses and bottles should be banned in nightclubs after 10pm or 11pm, in favour of plastic containers. “That day has to be very near,” he said. “We can“t wait another 20 years. There is just one solution, and that“s to do it now.” Dr Luke said he was delighted Irelands Garda and other police forces were behind the ban. “It would be a vital step in reducing severe injuries. It will reduce the workload on A&Es as well,” he said. As well as deliberate violence, broken glass posed a risk of accidents. Glass-related injuries, whether accidental or intentional also created a risk of litigation against nightclubs owners. Dr Luke said nightclub owners might suggest that customers did not like drinking out of plastic containers, but the benefits were obvious. Police officers from Holland and Britain said they were already trying to encourage events promoters to use only plastic glasses. Police from Birmingham in the UK suggested that new plastic glasses were being manufactured which looked and felt like the real thing but did not pose the same danger. Chief Superintendent Kevin Ludlow, in charge of policing the city centre of Cork, said “A glass bottle or glass is potentially an offensive weapon which can do serious harm. It is one of the easiest implements to turn into a weapon,” he said.