With Homecoming week at UW-Whitewater approaching, many local bars are starting to prepare for the festivities. Popular bars like Ground Zero, The Mad Boar and Pumpers & Mitchell’s are often frequented by UW-W students. Students go to these bars for a safe and fun time, but that does not always happen. Bar fights or altercations can occur just about anywhere, but local bars have taken steps to reduce fights and keep their clients safe.
Local bar Pumpers and Mitchell’s has several security measures set in place to ensure the safety of their staff and customers. The bar has several security cameras, scanners and people who keep customers safe. These staff members make sure that everything is going well and help to detain and decrease situations when they arise.
“I don’t mind spending the extra payroll to help and give people a peace of mind,” Pumpers and Mitchell’s operating partner Curt Patrick said. “If and when it’s needed, we have the staffing to control situations or assist customers.”
Patrick expressed his gratitude for the help they receive from the police department to keep their customers safe. Besides having the police department on speed dial, their staff are also trained in how to assess any situations that may occur at the bar. Employees are given a packet that outlines how staff should react to various situations.
“It explains to people how to handle a certain situation,” Patrick said. “Let’s say we observe a patron that’s overly intoxicated. We’re not just going to kick them to the curb and tell them to come back tomorrow and have them fend for themselves. Rather, the staff makes sure that they’re safe and they don’t need medical attention.”
Pumpers & Mitchell’s also use scanning systems at the door to check IDs, age and any previous bannings or altercations. These scanners can be cross referenced with security cameras when there are any altercations to help the police solve the issue.
Although Pumpers and Mitchell’s has these safety measures in place, they are not used as frequently as they used to be. The number of violent issues at this establishment has decreased over time.
“I don’t know if it’s a generational thing, but the current last five or six years moving forward, altercations have taken a dramatic downward turn,” said Patrick, who has been part of the bar’s staff for over 19 years. Patrick also noted seeing a decrease in bar rowdiness over the last couple of years.
Even though the bar has had a few recent issues with glass on dance floors and fights, the procedures they have set in place keep customers safe and provide the right repercussions to those who participate in violent events.
While the bar is frequented by UW-W students, Patrick states that very few issues are started by students. Sophomore Tyler McArdle said that he does not see many occurrences and often leaves the bars earlier in the night to avoid any issues.
Most local bars around campus also often communicate with one another throughout the night to inform about any issues they are having.
“All my security staff have a group text with all the others,” Patrick said. “Let’s say somebody gets kicked out of the pub and they’ll shoot a quick text, ‘Hey this person wearing this, this, and this – don’t let him or her in tonight.’ That gets a quick alert to us if they try to enter our establishment.”