Do bar and nightclub bouncers in Glasgow treat BME groups differently from their white counterparts?

CRER Investigates

30 Aug

Last year, CRER published new research into people’s experiences of racism within Scotland’s night-time economy. As part of our investigation, we went undercover in Glasgow’s city centre to learn more about racial profiling and how nightclub security teams treat Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups compared to their white counterparts.

The night-time economy forms a key part of Glasgow’s social fabric and rich cultural identity. Its impressive spread of pubs, nightclubs and historic music venues - alongside related parts of the retail and transport sectors - provides nearly 17,000 jobs and generates over £2 billion a year.

However, the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER)’s recent research found that access to these spaces is not always equal, with racism and other forms of discrimination appearing to be a common feature of a night out.

This often took the form of subtle experiences of bias, tokenism and stereotyping but also included overt acts of racist violence, abuse and harassment.

Based on the testimonies heard by CRER, these incidents often involved other patrons in bars and nightclubs; however, evidence suggests that businesses and those working in the night-time economy can also contribute to this widespread issue.

For instance, several responses to our public call for evidence described intensely negative interactions with door supervisors and other security personnel, reporting that they routinely singled minority ethnic people out from nightclub queues and unfairly refused them entry.

We also heard examples of bouncers treating Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups with more scrutiny and suspicion than white groups. This included subjecting them to additional questioning and physical searches when attempting to gain entry, as though they were more likely to cause problems or constitute a threat.

But were these isolated incidents or examples of a much broader issue of racial profiling and discrimination in the night-time economy?

To answer this question, CRER launched its own investigation into the issue, focusing on Glasgow – the largest and most ethnically diverse city in Scotland.

Scoping the problem:

Before we could accurately assess whether bouncers treat BME groups differently from their white counterparts, it was important to understand what these interactions might look like and the types of behaviours to expect.

So, to identify the nature of the problem in Glasgow, we ran a small-scale scoping exercise involving face-to-face discussions about people’s lived experience of discrimination in the night-time economy and an accompanying media review.

As part of this, we took a deep dive into the online reviews of Glasgow’s 1300+ licensed premises, identifying and cataloguing any that described racist incidents or alleged discriminatory treatment.

We found over 100 reviews describing scenarios where Black and minority ethnic people were excluded from bars and nightclubs or treated unfairly inside them.

“[We] noticed a pattern. Whites Only. No Asians, no Black, no multi-racial, no Middle Eastern, etc. Only whites were allowed through the door”
– Google review for a nightclub in Glasgow

Many of these gave accounts of minority ethnic people being turned away without explanation or for reasons filled with inconsistencies or racist stereotypes.

For example, people who don’t drink alcohol for faith-based reasons reported that they were denied entry for being ‘too drunk’, while others were confused for unrelated minority ethnic people who had been barred from the venues.

Reviews also highlighted how minority ethnic groups were often held to a higher standard than their white counterparts and were selectively policed on dress code policies and ID requirements, suggesting that some bouncers pro-actively looked for reasons to deny Black groups entry.

The racism described in these reviews was often subtle, such that complainants had to compare their treatment to that of other visitors to realise that they might have been discriminated against.

However, this wasn’t always the case. Some reviews described patrons being subjected to overt racist abuse from bouncers, including slurs and claims that they weren’t welcome because of their ethnicity.

“The bouncers blatantly stated we were not welcome because we are Asian”
– Google review of a nightclub in Glasgow

While CRER cannot verify the content of these reviews, such directly discriminatory actions would be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits the denial of goods or services based on ethnicity and other protected characteristics.

Despite the severity of these allegations, venues did not appear to take complaints about them seriously. We found just seven instances where a business publicly acknowledged an online allegation of racist treatment and pledged to investigate the incident(s), highlighting a widespread lack of action and accountability within Glasgow’s night-time economy.

Ultimately, our analysis of online reviews exposed a pattern of racist exclusion and differential treatment across scores of popular bars, pubs and nightclubs in Glasgow’s city centre, with door supervisors often playing a key role in limiting Black and minority ethnic groups’ participation in the night-time economy.

You can read our online review analysis in full in our original publication, available on the CRER website.

Our Investigation:

With an improved understanding of how racial profiling can exclude Black groups from these spaces, CRER designed its own investigation to find out how this plays out in practice.

As part of this, we used observational research techniques to assess how door supervisors treat Black groups compared to their white counterparts when gaining entry. This involved sending two teams of undercover researchers out into Glasgow’s city centre and recording how bouncers interacted with them, such as what questions – if any – they asked and whether they treated them with any suspicion or hostility.

As far as possible, we ensured that the only notable difference between these two groups was their ethnic appearance, with one consisting entirely of Black/minority ethnic people and the other of white people. Participants otherwise wore similar-style clothing (in line with venues’ dress code policies), had similar physical builds and shared other characteristics as much as possible.

It was also important to minimise the effects of circumstantial factors that could influence bouncers’ decisions and actions, such as queue sizes and capacity limits. To achieve this, each research group’s arrival was separated by five to ten minutes, ensuring that crowd sizes remained consistent whilst obscuring any connections between the groups.

Over the course of a few weekends in 2023, the groups visited ten bars and nightclubs around the Sauchiehall Street and Bath Street area.

After each interaction with door supervisors, participants evaluated their experience using an online questionnaire designed by CRER. This logged the specific actions taken by bouncers and collected subjective reflections on the tone of each interaction and how it made participants feel.

Data from each venue was pooled together before being analysed by CRER to identify any trends regarding participant ethnicity and their treatment by nightclub bouncers.

Our Findings:

How did door supervisors treat Black and minority ethnic groups compared to white groups?

We found clear evidence of Black and minority ethnic people being treated differently by door supervisors. This often consisted of BME groups being more intensely scrutinised during ID checks and door supervisors’ verbal assessments.

For instance, over half of minority ethnic participants were questioned by bouncers when gaining entry compared to around a third of white participants.

The exact nature of these interactions ranged significantly, but they often consisted of bouncers asking for more information from BME groups, such as questioning where they had been earlier in the evening and what and how much they had been drinking before arriving.

Door supervisors were also nearly twice as likely to enquire about the size of a BME group and the relationship between its members compared to white groups, as though their connections to one another were more likely to be nefarious or raise red flags.

We, of course, recognise that none of these actions are necessarily directly discriminatory; however, upon repetition, they form a clear and consistent pattern of BME groups being subject to a greater degree of caution, suspicion and surveillance than their white counterparts. This contributes to a culture in which white visitors are automatically assumed to be unproblematic patrons, while the admission of those from Black/minority ethnic backgrounds is dependent on additional assessment and scrutiny.

These behaviours are consistent with wider patterns relating to racial profiling and the disproportionate policing of minority ethnic groups in Scotland, especially regarding the implied association of groups of Black individuals with a threat/risk of violence or disorder.

We also collected data on whether our participants were physically searched or had their belongings searched by security personnel. However, just one of the nightclubs visited conducted searches, and this was due to a blanket policy, meaning all participants were searched.

While our sample is too small to draw concrete conclusions about searches from, we noted that the search process for Black and minority ethnic patrons was more likely to include physical pat-downs rather than just a bag or wallet search.

Anecdotal evidence heard by CRER – as well as identified through our analysis of online reviews – also suggests that Black and minority ethnic groups are disproportionately denied entry to licensed premises across Glasgow. However, due to our investigation’s limited sample size and lack of repetition, CRER was unable to collect robust data on this.

But based on our findings, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that this pattern of exclusion is linked to the same processes of stereotyping and stigmatisation that cause the disproportionate surveillance and policing of minority ethnic groups participating in the night-time economy.

How did patrons feel about their interactions with door supervisors?

According to our investigation, Black and minority ethnic patrons were more likely to have negative experiences with door supervisors, with some research participants describing their interactions as ‘stand-offish’ and ‘cold’.

We found that BME groups were four times more likely to have a negative experience with bouncers than their white counterparts. This meant that nearly one in ten attempts at gaining entry to a bar or nightclub in Glasgow was described as a negative experience for Black and minority ethnic people.

Does the ethnicity of bouncers influence their treatment of BME patrons?

CRER also explored whether the ethnic makeup of door supervision teams influenced the treatment of Black and minority ethnic patrons.

We found that BME groups generally had more positive experiences when interacting with ethnically diverse door staff. According to their subjective evaluations, nearly two-thirds of interactions with BME door staff were positive compared to a quarter of interactions with all-white teams. There were no recorded negative interactions with BME door staff.

This may suggest that venues and agencies employing an ethnically diverse workforce tend to fare better at making Black and minority ethnic patrons feel comfortable during security checks and admissions processes.

However, it should be noted that wider studies concerning the disproportionate policing of minority communities suggest that tangible changes to policies and their delivery may have a greater impact on inequalities and perceptions of community safety than improved workforce diversity. Future research may be able to investigate this more effectively with a broader scope and increased repetitions.

In summary:

In a study of Glasgow’s bars and nightclubs, CRER found that bouncers and door supervisors often treated Black and minority ethnic groups differently from white groups, even when all other factors were the same.

This echoed wider evidence, which suggested that racial harassment, stereotyping and unfair treatment were common features of a night out in Glasgow.

While it was rare for bouncers to behave in an overtly discriminatory way, CRER’s research found that they took disproportionate steps to assess the suitability of BME patrons compared to their white counterparts.

This contributed to a pattern of disproportionate suspicion, surveillance and exclusion, which can leave BME patrons feeling isolated, stereotyped and unwelcome in bars and nightclubs.

As a result, BME groups were four times more likely to report a negative experience with bouncers than their white counterparts.

While those involved in the research reported improved experiences when interacting with ethnically diverse security teams, wider efforts are needed to address these inequalities at a policy level.

To learn more about how changes to policy and legislation can help challenge racism in the night-time economy, please consult CRER’s full research report.

In closing:

CRER’s investigation found clear evidence of door supervisors treating Black and minority ethnic groups differently from their white counterparts, often by holding them to a higher standard during admissions processes and subjecting them to a greater degree of suspicion and surveillance.

While ‘random’ searches and disproportionate surveillance have been a long-running joke of frustration for Black/minority ethnic communities, the prevalence of these behaviours in Glasgow’s night-time economy can leave these groups feeling uncomfortable, unwelcome and, at times, discriminated against.

This differential treatment can actively discourage minority ethnic groups from fully engaging with the night-time economy and these shared spaces, undermining efforts to foster good relations and promote community cohesion.

“One of my big passions in life is music and watching live music and it [racism] is a big deterrent in terms of me wanting to go out as much”
– a participant in one of CRER’s focus groups

While people, their dignity and their rights should always be centred within discussions around equality, the material economic impacts of this discrimination and exclusion cannot be understated.

“In Glasgow, the money is there if you choose to involve Black, Asian and minority ethnic folk. So, if the culture in the clubs and pubs changes, it’ll only benefit them”
– a participant in one of CRER’s focus groups

Glaswegian businesses should pride themselves on delivering a sense of safety and belonging to their customers and take steps to ensure that everyone can participate in Glasgow’s vibrant and internationally recognised nightlife culture without fear of discrimination, violence and harassment.

Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, and we all have a duty to challenge it wherever it arises.

Glasgow’s night-time economy should be no exception to this, and it’s about time that the businesses and decision-makers at its centre do their bit to safeguard against racism and hate in all forms.

Acknowledgements:

This investigation was supported by anti-racism funding delivered by the Corra Foundation in collaboration with Sky.

It would also not have been possible without the enthusiastic team of researchers who lent their time and energy to help expose these inequalities and challenge racism, often while juggling other responsibilities that clashed with the late hours required for this investigation.

Lastly, it should be noted that due to its small sample size and limited repeats, this study should only serve as a starting point for how we understand this long-standing but under-researched issue in Scotland. Further research and consultation are required to fully address the significant evidence gaps surrounding the experiences of minority ethnic groups within – and their exclusion from – the night-time economy.