ID Cards

Whether you’re looking to buy alcohol, cigarettes, cinema tickets or even a DVD, nowadays I.D is essential. The Government have gotten tougher with their enforcement on commercial outlets and the selling of products to under age people. The No I.D No Sale campaign operated by Citizen Card (approved by the Home Office) allows businesses to ask people who look under 21 to prove their age. Thus hopefully eliminating any uncertainty of people’s age when buying age restricted products. A lot of young people look older than their actual age so this campaign hopes to prevent young people trying to buy products they are not allowed.

Forms of I.D that are supposed to be accepted at retail places using this campaign are I.D cards with the hologram ‘PASS’ (Proof of Age Standards Scheme), driving licence and passport. However, it seems that over 18s sometimes encounter problems with their so-called Home Office identification cards not being accepted.

Rob, 24, from Blaby said: “I’ve got a Portman Group proof of age card and I basically can’t get in most places in Leicester with it.

“I tried Lloyds, The Sun and Liquid. Original Four club allowed me in with it though. It really annoys me when I get turned away. Someone once told me the card is not accepted in a lot of places because they are easily forged”.

So, here at the Jitty we decided to test some of the more popular forms of I.D to see if bars and clubs would accept them.

We went to the following bars; Firebug, Fat Catz, Yates and Lloyds. Three out of four bars served us without asking for I.D so we obviously passed for over 21, which we all were. At Yates, two people were asked for I.D, the first person showed her student card (no hologram PASS sign) and was refused sale but then she showed her driving licence and was accepted. The second person who was asked for I.D had none and was refused service and was asked to leave the premises. Our research concluded that places do enforce the campaign guidelines but this is not to say that this is true in all bars.
Identification problems still exist but is it such an issue? Yes it can prove to be an inconvenience when you are old enough to purchase products and get turned away. However, if the campaign guidelines were more relaxed would we not be complaining more so?

The media have shown us many situations where selling to under age people can have devastating effects. Take the case of young Jamie Bulger, who in 1993 was murdered by two 10-year-old boys. The media wildly claimed it was because they had watched the 18 certificate film Child’s Play. In a more recent (and local) case in 2004 a 14-year-old boy was murdered with a claw hammer and his parents claimed it was because the 17-year-old murderer was mimicking the violent video game Manhunt. The video game was subsequently taken off the shelves throughout the UK. Another issue on under age sales that the media have picked up on is the selling of alcohol to minors. The media have also linked this with the idea of the UK becoming a country of ’binge drinkers’. Hence the Governments new laws on alcohol sales and the penalties put in place in case anyone evades them.

If a business refuses a sale when you show them a pass card it may be worth asking why because all the I.D cards displaying the hologram PASS sign are authorised by the Home Office and Trading Standards and thus should be accepted across the whole of the UK. Many young people are aware of the Citizen Cards; in Leicestershire alone around 3,527 people own a Citizen Card. The standard price for the card is £9 or free to under 17s. You can get them through several shops and bars such as One Stop, JD Wetherspoon, Threshers and Ladbrokes. You can also visit http://www.citizencard.com/ and order a card online.