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Police Scotland is far from the only police force to pursue such a strategy. In the last couple of years there have been reports of police in Yeovil, Swansea, Wokingham, and Bridgwater using itemizers. Club owners in Brighton and London also say they have been targeted. In case there was any doubt that police in Scotland and the rest of the UK share similar views on clubs, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe gave a speech earlier this year in which he asked: "Do we really need as many licensed premises?"READ ON THUMP: Has the UK Really Fallen Out of Love with Nightclubs?
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Watch—Big Night Out: The Drum 'n' Bass Night
People who visit nightclubs are now subject to stricter scrutiny than people boarding transatlantic flights. ID scanners, sniffer dogs, fingerprinting stations, breathalyzers, body searches, CCTV, and metal detectors are all in use across the UK. In other walks of life, this is only acceptable if you're under arrest or, at the very least, suspected of a crime. Effectively, all clubbers are now classed as criminal suspects. While it would be naive to claim that people don't take drugs at nightclubs, most don't. And while plenty of other public places are also the home of occasional criminal activity, none face the same sanctions.
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