Yes Quotes has made changes and the big topic of the meeting was that a Quotes bouncer assisted it a case with a JPD officer who was being attacked. The patron almost got the Taser away from the JPD officer and the officer would have had no choice but to use deadly force. The Quotes bouncer saved a life.

hiii98 - You are wrong about the staff at Quotes. I know first-hand that the bouncers ask the patrons that are causing problems to leave before using any sort of force, but hannah stated, people aren't just going to leave if you ask them if they are causing problems. Usually, by then they are too drunk to care and have that "liquid courage" flowing through their veins so they don't care.

Yes, there have been incidents in the past at Quotes, but that was years ago. Things are different down there, thanks to the security staff working to keep trouble out of the bar.

And as for them never calling the cops, if you recall the article where the JPD reported the number of contacts a number of local establishments have had with the police, Quotes had the highest number. That is because the security staff will call JPD if they need to, for anything from verifying an ID if they believe it to be false, to getting someone that is causing trouble out of their bar. Quotes security staff is more than willing to work with the JPD, and makes contact with officers often, when it is needed, and on occasion, if a bouncer sees an officer he will talk to him and just let him know how things are going down at the bar, or downtown.

So please, before you make these conclusions, know what's going on. You yourself said you no longer frequent Quotes, so don't make judgements about the "new" security there based on the past problems they have had.

And yes I agree, Quotes is one of the cleaner and more organized bars in Janesville, despite the problems that they may face or have faced in the past (which are no different than any other bar).

Duece! Do you know that you are breaking down stereotypes that people have of employees of bars? That rocks!

It is wonderful to hear that you guys seem to enjoy your choice of job to give up your time with family, friends, etc., to learn how to keep your place of employment safer for your customers!

I regret saying that I have entered Jumbo's one time, but I can say that the food we had for lunch was fantastic! It allowed me to break my stereotypes!

In the meeting he did recommend not touching patrons but he did stress for us to use our own policies if they work for us. Our bouncers don't go looking for contact but we can only imagine what could happen if we stood back and let them fight until police show up. bystanders may be hurt, the people fighting may cause each other serious injury and the fight may grow into many patrons fighting. We always make police contact if there is a fight or if there is someone who may be a problem outside our bar. We would never intentionally leave an injured patron without medical attention.
Also, to my knowledge this was a free meeting. The Jumbo's staff attended under our own free will and without pay. We did recieve a small bounus from the owner for attending but didn't know we would until after the meeting. I have to agree, there is no reason this couldn't be mandatory.
Bars do their best to help the comunity by holding benefits, charity rides and other events. It is good for our businesses and the comunity, and we enjoy it.

"Why do you keep going back?"
I no longer go to bars.

BTW Quotes is definatly one of the cleaner and more organized bars in Janesville (was my favorite).

"He also told the class not to touch patrons when breaking up fights or throwing people out."

I have never seen anyone at Quotes ever asking someone to leave. The bouncers aggressively tackle the offender, and two of them violently shove him/her out the back door. I've even seen one bouncer with a broken nose from doing this same tactic.

Forgot to mention they never call the police so the fight usually resumes outside until someone is dying on the sidewalk as the bouncers lock the door and dont call authorities.

Duece, thank you! I know that I have not seen much of anything negative occur in the area... Last I remember seeing/hearing any kind of emergency lights was a month or two ago when an ambulance came for a guy during the afternoon.

In fact, I enjoy seeing what happens at Tremors with their benefits and bands. It is also nice to hear the bands at Hammy's!

I didn't mean for it to sound bad, just to be able to keep working with local establishments to keep up the good in the neighborhood. So, yes, I will stop in as soon as I can to talk with you guys to see if there is anything we can do in the neighborhood to keep it safe.

This is perfect example of thinking outside the box - proactive rather than reactive. With the poor attendance though - I wonder if the City Council would consider an ordinance to have the ALC require this on an annual basis for a business to renew their liquor license.

I'm sure us or any other bar in the area would be open to something like that. I can not speak on Jumbo's behalf because I'm not the business owner, but I think the fact that our entire Jumbo's staff attended the JPD bar security meeting will show Janesville our commitment to a safe and secure business. The meeting was geared more twards security inside the bar and the parking lots but there is more that could be said about the neighborhoods around the bars. Obviously we can't do much off property other than observation and reporting problems. I know myself that I do look out the doors and windows quite often to see what is going on in our lot and around the bar. Jumbo's owners do walk the property daily to look for vandalism, trash or contraband. We also are 100 percent FOR police walk-thru. In a recent occasion all three bars you live near had a group of three people who were causing problems. Tremors called Jumbo's to warn of these people and in turn we warned Hammy's. There is communication between every bar in town weather its via frendships or Tavern League meetings. We all deal with the same people and help each other out. don't be afraid to stop in and inform us of any problems. At times we only have one person on staff so it is hard to see everything.

What can we do as citizens? I do not go to bars, but I live near 3-- Jumbo's, Tremors, Hammy's, and whatever else is there. Can we do a citizens' committee to team with these establishments and the PD for the safety of our neighborhoods and community as a whole?

If someone from JPD, these establishments, or otherwise is actually reading this, send me an email through here. There are enough kids in my neighboorhood that I would like to make it more enjoyable and safe for the kids.

I don't go to bars anymore but it never bothered me to see a cop walk in to see that all was good and this move I think could only serve for the good of everyones interest for this meeting. I see alot of people thinking of the cops as the bad guy.

I was one of the bar employees who attended this class. There were six of us from Jumbo's, including the owner, one from Quotes and one from Red Robin. Sad to say no other bars participated. It was a good class but I could tell Sgt. Donohoue was somewhat dissappointed in the lack of attendence. It was fun and he didn't talk to the group like a "cop". I suggest all bars have their staff go to this. I felt it was the police reaching out to get help from bar staff. Not a bad thing to have safe bars. Props to Sgt. Donohoue and and the JPD.

Kudos to the three bars and one restaurant that attended this seminar. I find it amazing that there were only 4 businesses willing to invest the time to learn more on handling situations to protect their customers and employees. There are how many businesses in town that have liquor licenses? And only 4 show up.

Keep up the work! You guys are great.

One more fantastic example of how professional the Janesville Police are. It's very pleasing that the business owners are enthusiastic about participating.