Bars crack down on unattended drinks to prevent date rape
Posted June 11, 2017 9:22 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Some Vancouver nightclub owners are setting up a new program to prevent date rape.
Almost ten years after Vancouver Police joined forces with nearly 40 bars to fight gang crime, the new target is sexual predators.
“Relevant to patron safety, particularly females, if you leave a drink unattended on the table and go to the washroom the staff will pick it up and dispose of it,” says Curtis Robinson, a former police officer who now co-chairs BarWatch.
He says local pub owners were recently tipped off about two men exploiting women at bars along the Granville corridor, so efforts are being stepped up to stop predatory male behaviour against women in bars.
“I can’t use names but I received a heads-up that two people had come to the attention of Vancouver Police Department, and that in fact in previous times they had targeted women that frequented the Granville strip inside licensed premises.”
In 2013, the BarWatch program was expanded to include the “Don’t be that guy” campaign.
