By Ian Neubauer
A new fingerprint, face and ID scanning security solution designed for the hospitality industry is proving to be a significant deterrent against troublemakers in bars and clubs.
Launched in September, the Nightkey system is the brainchild of Mario Mandaffari, former co-owner of the Metropolis nightclub, one of WA’s largest licensed venues.
“In the time when I still owned the venue, I was watching patrons producing their ID for security at the front of the venue and thought, ‘If we knew who they were, would it change their behaviour?’” he said.
“We started looked around for ID scanning systems. There were plenty configured for government departments and military sites but nothing available for the hospitality industry. So we decided to build it ourselves.
“The first version was a primitive system that scanned ID cards, kept the files and erased them at the end of every month. What we saw is that it stopped troublemakers from wanting to frequent the venue.”
Following the launch of the alpha version in 2002, Mandaffari and his partner kick-started a four yearlong research and development project that resulted in the creation of Nightkey — an automated scanning system that automatically detects individuals on ban lists and which incorporates biometric technology for fingerprint scanning.
The design process involved consultation with the Federal Privacy Commission and privacy attorneys to make sure Nightkey did not violate privacy laws. They advised the system had to collect, retrieve and store personal data on an external server monitored by a third party, with only the name, DOB and photo of patrons accessible by venue operators subscribing to the system.
“We just don’t hand out terminals willy-nilly,” Mandaffari said. “We ask venues that want to use the system to install high-resolution CCTV cameras and step up security. Nightkey is not an end-all solution. It’s an aid that requires a lot of other things to be in place for it to work.”
Mandaffari said he witnessed a “massive reduction” in anti-social behaviour at Metropolis after installing the first Nightkey system there in 2006. Bolstered by its success, he and his partner then sold the venue and committed themselves to reproducing and marketing the technology.
Twenty Knightkey units have been installed in pubs and clubs across Australia, including Liquid and Amplifier Bar in WA, The Alma of Adelaide and Meche in Canberra, with operators charged a set fee per patron scanned.
“This is not a new concept, but it is new to the hospitality industry,” Mandaffari said. “Anti-social behaviour is a problem everywhere, so you can imagine we’ve been flat out.”
To learn more about the Knightkey system, click here.
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