Door staff to film troublemakers

Door staff at nine Liverpool bars are to wear head-cams as part of a drive to make the city a safe place at night.

It is hoped the tiny wearable cameras, which record pictures and sound, will help reduce drink-fuelled violence by providing crucial evidence if a crime is committed.

The head-cams initiative is part of Licensees Watch, formerly Pub Watch.

Other safety measures being introduced are supervised taxi ranks and extra security funds for small businesses.

These initiatives are not about preventing people from drinking but are about ensuring people across the city can enjoy alcohol in a responsible way that does not impact on themselves or other residents Gideon Ben-Tovim, chair of Liverpool PCT

The Licensees Watch scheme will include not just pubs and bars, but all licensed premises including supermarkets and off-licences.

Measures are in place to make sure only Merseyside Police and the security firm will be able to access the material recorded on the head-cams.

Evidence from the bars, where the head-cams have been trialled over the past few weeks, has shown that they reduce incidents of aggression in door queues, a Liverpool City Council spokesman said.

The chairman of Liverpool Primary Care Trust, Gideon Ben-Tovim, said: "Excessive alcohol consumption is one of the main lifestyle choices affecting the health of people in Liverpool.

"At its worst as many as 70% of all accident and emergency admissions during some weekends were alcohol related, and there are consistently high levels of binge drinking in the city.

"These initiatives are not about preventing people from drinking but are about ensuring people across the city can enjoy alcohol in a responsible way that does not impact on themselves or other residents."