The former 'Bouncers' now Control Service Officers

The figure of the bouncer is found in Mesopotamian myths such as that of Nergal, the king of the underworld, who had to pass through the seven guards at the gates of the underworld. In Roman times, there was a slave doorkeeper whose job was to guard an entrance and expel anyone who was unwelcome from the house. The cleric, the first of the minor orders, was responsible for opening and closing the church doors and guarding it.
The term bouncer has found over the years in Italy a regulation, namely that of the law of 15 July 2009, n. 94 provisions on public safety and a professional terminology such as Control Service Officers, in places of entertainment and shows open to the public or in public establishments, always commonly called "Buttafuori". In order to operate as a Control Service Officer, one is required beforehand to train in a training agency accredited to the region where it is based, for a total duration of 90 hours which includes topics such as the legal area, technical area and psychological-social area. At the end of the course, an exam is taken which allows one to obtain a certification with a professional qualification.
Operators are required to ensure that their personnel are recognisable with a badge bearing the word "assistance" and the relevant prefectural number, which is why each Italian prefecture has established a list of personnel assigned to control services by issuing them a prefectural number that allows for an employment contract between the operator and the manager or owner of an authorised agency pursuant to art. 134 of the TULPS.
The requirements that a Control Service Officer must possess in order to operate as such are:
not less than 18 years of age, psychophysical fitness, absence of alcohol and drug use, not having been convicted, even with a non-final sentence, for non-negligent crimes; not being subjected nor having been subjected to preventive measures, not belonging to organizations referred to in Legislative Decree 25 June 1993, n. 205; lower secondary school diploma.
Generally, the control functions they perform can be grouped into three specific types: preliminary checks, access and exit of the public, checks inside the premises. The activity concerns: preliminary checks for the presence of illicit substances or prohibited objects with immediate communication to the police, verification of free escape routes, checks upon public access to the maintenance of order in the premises open to the public in which they operate, the removal of annoying and/or troublesome people, the detection of the presence of illicit substances or prohibited objects as well as any other material that may be dangerous for public safety or the health of people and, therefore, intended for a specific group of users, characterized by age groups and/or behavioral models required in particular circumstances. The work environments in which the bouncer operates are those such as discos, pubs and nightclubs mainly frequented by young people attracted by fun and music that often mixed unfortunately with excessive alcohol and drug abuse alter the senses of young people making them uncontrollable and for which the Control Service Officers find themselves facing for the safety of the young person himself, of the other patrons and of the bouncers themselves. To prevent all this there must be the collaboration of the club, the professionalism of the bouncer and the maturity of the young person. Even if news sources do not report them, it has happened that Control Service Officers have saved the lives of young people by avoiding their self-destruction. Like caring parents, the "Bouncer" also ensures the serenity of these young people, demonstrating that they are not only physically big and that they know how to fight as we have often imagined.

The law states that bouncers cannot use any means of physical coercion, much less weapons or other objects capable of offending. However, it may well happen that violent conduct becomes indispensable in order to protect one's personal safety or that of others. Legitimate defense constitutes, in criminal law, a cause of justification in proportion to the offense. The fact remains that the best weapon for a Security Service Officer is: communication, that is, knowing how to speak to the customer with courtesy and professionalism, leading him to reasonableness and tranquility, allows you to avoid degenerative situations; studying the behavior of some people who may have offensive or annoying attitudes towards others allows you to avoid discussions and possible fights; and teamwork, that is, the operational collaboration of the entire team of security service officers, who are a close-knit and well-understood team, in which each operator can count on the professionalism of his colleague in any case.

Dario Procida-President SQUAD SMPD