With Melbourne’s nightlife coming under fire in recent times following a steady stream of violent incidents, one of the city’s most troubled venues – Chapel Street club Chasers, which will host the Slinky world tour in July – has now unveiled its own initiative in an attempt to turn the tide; facial recognition software.

Chasers came under intense scrutiny in 2008 when a chemical explosive was let off inside the club, so it’s no surprise they’d be keen to shift the public’s perception of their venue’s safety. Already using metal detectors to scan for weapons, the club introduced the new facial recognition system as an additional measure over the weekend.

They’ve received the support of Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, and now the club’s head of security wants to see a similar system introduced at other venues throughout the city. “There are fights in nightclubs, and we want to stop these troublemakers coming in,” Andrew McDonald of Chasers told the Herald Sun.

Upon entering the venue each patron has their face scanned, and their image is then stored on a computer for 28 days along with their driver’s license details. It’s suggested that if more venues introduced the scanning system, then a ‘database’ of known trouble-makers could be formed.

Not surprisingly the initiative has raised a few eyebrows, with some raising the issue of privacy with details to be kept on file. “At the moment there’s always the danger someone can get hold of images and post them on the internet,” Michael Pearce of Liberty Victoria told the Herald Sun.

Club owner Martha Tsamis has assured there’s no chance the retained information would ever be made public, and she’s said the introduction of the scanning procedure has received support from patrons. “The reports we have had, especially from females, is they are very happy because they know our system is there to protect people,” she said.

The facial recognition system is reported to have cost $16,000, and venue operators believe it’s a worldwide first for the nightclub industry.