It’s hard to find someone to blame when activity and noise inside some clubs spills out into the streets. Some people blame the police, some blame patrons, some blame club owners. This isn’t a new conversation. But the situation is becoming serious enough that police, local club owners, community leaders and residents are faced with a choice — work together or continue to go round and round on an issue that is becoming too large to ignore.  

“We’re in a transition period for bar enforcement,” says Lt. Sean Gustason, who is in charge of Tacoma Police Department’s Sector One, which encompasses much of downtown Tacoma. “Eight or nine years ago, from Yakima on down there was nothing. This influx of nightclubs presents a lot of new issues.” 

 

In recent years crime associated with club activity has grown, forcing TPD administrators to take a hard look at addressing community concerns, says Gustason. 

 

In hopes of getting up to speed, officers are looking at how clubs in Seattle try and maintain order, and are surveying best practices from various cities in hopes of developing a plan for Tacoma. But TPD needs the cooperation of club owners and citizens to pull this off, he stresses. He encourages club owners to connect with people in the neighborhood, and take more responsibility for activity that happens after the doors close. If club owners need help, TPD is always willing, he says. He also stresses that TPD needs the help of the community. 

 

 “I just want everybody to be safe,” says Gustason. “The days of just driving by and writing tickets are over. We have to talk to people and work it out.” 

 

Mark Valerio, co-owner of Club Juno on Market Street, couldn’t agree more. Juno is one club among many downtown that have sparked concerns. Let’s give respect to its owner for being brave enough to speak up. 

 

Valerio is a smart guy, and speaks honestly and with insight about issues that face club owners. When asked about concerns raised by some of his neighbors, Valerio says he goes to extreme measures to ensure the safety of people in his neighborhood, and that it’s unfair to lay all the blame for activity near clubs on venue owners.  To its credit, Juno uses  a state-of-the-art ID system to keep tabs on known troublemakers and hires a good number of off-duty police officers to patrol and secure the area on busy nights. Valerio says it takes time and effort to weed out the knuckleheads, and that local club owners and law enforcement could cut down on trouble dramatically if they could work together to do so. 

 

“Juno and staff members are interested in continually working with local law enforcement and community leaders to ensure the safety of the members of the community, our patrons and our employees,” he says. “As a new business, we feel very fortunate to have a law enforcement agency that is supportive, knowledgeable, and helpful with our integration into the business community.”

During a long conversation, Valerio offers a laundry list of solid suggestions for increasing security and minimizing impacts of nightlife — something that everyone seems to agree is an important part of building a vibrant community. 

Like TPD, Valerio says he and other new club owners need help. 

“As a new business, we welcome any opportunity to be involved in spearheading opening lines of communication and working towards common goals of better business, better  community relations, safety and procedural changes, and development of enforcement programs.”

 

Sounds good to us. Who wants to host the first meeting?