If you are hosting or managing your own event, your absolute number one priority must be to keep your guests safe at all times.
However, in the hustle and bustle of attempting to make your event a success, it is easy to overlook security. In fact, security is often an afterthought for event organisers who rush to sort it at the very last moment and end up with sub-standard and insufficient measures in place.
You might get away with this, but the consequences of getting is wrong can be too awful to consider and it really isn’t worth putting your attendees safety at risk.
Recent terror incidents in Paris, USA, and right here in the UK at a number of different events shows just how real and serious the threat to safety is whenever a large group of people gather together in a single location.
Not taking your event security seriously simply isn’t worth the chance so follow these 8 industry tips for keeping your event as secure as it can possibly be.
Tip 1 – Analyse risk
The key to building a successful security plan is planning. Every event, even those at the same venue have different security requirements and identifying them is the key to building your security strategy.
Some of the things to consider when conducting your risk assessment include:
- Who is hosting the event?
- How many people are attending?
- What is the atmosphere expected to be like ?– classical concerts are likely to be slightly less highly charged than a derby match in football.
- Will there be any protests?
- How high profile is the event likely to be.
Hiring a professional show and event security firm to carry out this assessment will ensure that all the key factors are identified.
Tip 2 – Create a number of checkpoints
Having several checkpoints stationed between your venue and the outside world, at staggered distances will reduce the likelihood of any unauthorised individuals from gaining access.
It also means that anyone intent on disruption will be dealt with by security well away from the venue and other attendees, minimising disruption to the event itself.
Tip 3 – Ask for ID
Perhaps not possible at major events such as sports matches and festivals, but checking IDs and ensuring that they match with the name on the tickets of your guest will help to prevent those without authorisation from getting inside.
Multiple data points such as date-of-birth and photo ID make it much more difficult for an intruder to adopt someone else’s identity in order to gain access to your event.
Tip 4 – Use visible security measures
Responding to incidents as they occur is a secondary and last resort role of your security measures. Their main purpose should be to deter criminals from making an attempt to cause problems in the first place, showing them clearly that they are under observation and will be swiftly dealt with if they do.
Uniformed security guards and highly visible tall CCTV towers are great for this task and are a mainstay of most successful event security set-ups.
Tip 5 – Avoid public announcements
Now, this is only relevant to smaller corporate events, avoiding advertising your concert probably won’t end well, but if it is only a small event you are hosting, with a small number of invited guests, consider avoiding making the time, date, and location public.
You don’t need to advertise on social media that your board of executives are meeting for a conference, for example. This is only asking for protests and trouble to occur.
Tip 6 – Create an emergency response plan
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. No-one wants to consider that an emergency could take place at there event but considering all eventualities will keep the damage to a minimum if they do. Your emergency response plan should include details such as evacuation routes, entry routes for police or fire services, installing warning signs, and more.
Tip 7 – Hire only SIA licenced staff
Only ever hire SIA licenced security officers to perform security guarding services on your site. This licence is a legal requirement for all security guards and ensures that they have undergone event specific training such as conflict management, crowd control, and first aid.
Tip 8 – Don’t forget cyber security
Nowadays the cyber threat is just as large as the physical one, for both events and businesses alike.
It is essential that you protect the data of your attendees as an information leak could leave you in pretty serious legal trouble, not to mention destroying your reputation and making other people think twice about booking an event with you any time in the near future. Consult with a cyber security expert for this task rather than a standard security company.