Safety at events and large gatherings

Event security is one of the security areas where most things happen simultaneously: access control at multiple entrances, crowd management in tightly packed areas, fire prevention, and cooperation with organizer, police, and emergency services. This makes it one of the most demanding but also most sought-after specialties in the trade.

§The organizer's safety plan

Larger public events typically require a security plan, which the organizer prepares and in many cases must be approved by police and other authorities before the event can take place. The plan describes, among other things, the expected number of guests, access arrangements, escape routes and staffing with security personnel. As a security officer at an event, you should know the security plan for exactly the task you are solving — not just your own post, but also how your post fits in with the rest of the event.

§The Preparedness Act and authorities' terms

For larger outdoor events the emergency service can under the Emergency Management Act § 35 subsection 3 set conditions to protect life health and property — it can among other things concern requirements for escape routes fire extinguishing equipment and staffing. The Emergency Management Agency has issued guidance on how the provision is used in practice against organizers of large outdoor events. For larger events where welding is done hazardous substances are handled or the space conditions themselves pose a fire risk there are often requirements for a fire watch whose task is to monitor fire risks know the evacuation plan and be able to initiate extinguishing and alarming.

§Crowd management — flow rather than stop

For large assemblies much of the safety is about managing movements before they become a problem: avoiding bottlenecks at entrances keeping escape routes clear and distributing the audience so density does not become dangerous anywhere. Good crowd management is proactive — you prevent crowding by planning flows of people not by stopping them when they have already formed.

• 01Know the safety plan for exactly your event, not just your own station.
• 02Know where escape routes and assembly points are and keep them visibly clear.
• 03Know the difference between your role and a potential fire guard's role.
• 04Maintain ongoing contact with security center/coordinator about changes in visitor flow.

§Cross-departmental cooperation

A well-functioning event depends on security, organizer, police, and rescue services communicating to a common plan instead of acting in isolation. As security, you are part of that chain: your observation and quick report can be what makes a small incident resolved before it becomes large.

“At an event, the best security is invisible — it is first seen the day something goes wrong and yet everything still works.”