The Public Prosecutor's Office in Amsterdam is planning to use "mystery guests" to discover whether club doormen are guilty of discrimination. From December the undercover "guests" will be attempting to gain entry to a number of clubs in Amsterdam.

They will record how often people are refused entry because of their ethnicity. They will not be handing out spot fines, but the information they gather may be used later if it becomes clear that certain clubs discriminate on a regular basis.

A spokesman for the city council confirmed today that this is just one of a package of measures Amsterdam is introducing to combat discrimination.

The council will be experimenting with a scheme which enables people to send a text message by phone if they feel  they have been discriminated against. Since 2006 Amsterdam has had a Door Policy Panel where people can lodge complaints about doormen and bouncers via internet, but this only receives 35 complaints a year on average. The council wants to make it easier to report incidents of discrimination.
 

As part of its campaign to reduce discrimination against homosexuals, Amsterdam will be competing to organise the 2017 Gay Games or the 2018 World Outgames. There will also be a campaign to combat discrimination in the workplace.