San Francisco Nightclub Violence Prompts Call For Industry Audit
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Following a string of violent and deadly incidents at San Francisco nightclubs, a city supervisor has called for an economic audit of the local entertainment industry.
The goal of the audit proposed by Supervisor Scott Wiener is to review the slew of patch-quilt regulations enacted after violent incidents and their effect, not just on the nightclubs in question but also on the vast majority of venues which do not have such problems.
Wiener said he hopes the audit would help produce industry regulations that make sense for everyone involved.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
"If we're going to consider regulations of the industry then we should do it with full information," said Wiener, "including not simply looking at the negatives but also looking at the positives. How much it contributes in terms of jobs, tax collections, tourism, et cetera."
Wiener claimed the current approach threatens to punish too many good apples along with the bad ones.
"There will be something terrible that happens, someone gets shot at or outside of a nightclub, then a new law is proposed that affects everyone," said Wiener.
He has asked the controller to assess the economic impact of all kinds of entertainment, including nightclubs, festivals and musical events.
Last year, there were at least half a dozen shootings in and around San Francisco nightclubs. The Police Department has recommended requiring nightclubs to install cameras, metal detectors, outside lighting and ID scanners.
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