Security, safety and holding events in the age of terrorism
From Event Industry News UK
The horrors of the Paris attacks last year will put the security model at live events under closer scrutiny than ever in season 2016. Event Industry News looks beyond the barricades.
Whether this country remains a part of the European Union or not, experts believe threats and disruption to major events will be the ‘new normal’, across the continent. And there’s a bigger than ever onus on festival organisers to make their audiences feel safe. According to the National Police Chiefs Counsel (NPCC), pre-austerity, ‘The Police have no general duty to preserve public safety at any public event, except where there are imminent or likely threats to life’. So it costs organisers to have even the thinnest blue line.
However, Operation Gothic, an intelligence-sharing initiative developed by the police and focused on festivals and events, has been a significant step towards rebalancing that equation since it was introduced in 2013. Gothic is a means to manage and maintain a structured contacts network for event facilitators, including police, partners and industry, through: • gathering, developing, actioning and analysing information and intelligence for sharing with each event host and key partners • activating early warning mechanisms in respect of high-risk emerging issues • producing regular bulletins and risk profiles (i.e. artist, fan base etc) for use by police, venues, security and event organisers.
While counter terrorism guidance was already in the public domain, the police fielded a weight of enquiries from event organisers post-Paris. So the system and the tactics were revised, inviting organisers and venue managers to engagement sessions across the country in May, one telling example. “The decision to review was made very quickly after the attacks,” a spokesperson tells Event Industry News. “[Gothic] is not perfect yet. It’s a new, voluntary operation, managed by just a few enthusiastic officers, but it’s a channel for us to share information with event organisers. They get [the news] we get. It’s sanitised, for obvious reasons, but hopefully useful. If any specific information emerges, we would pass that on. Gothic is not about us plugging holes in [an organiser’s] plans.” Any real threat to the public, however, following all due consultation and consideration, would stop an event in its tracks.
The force then is strong, but resolutely background, in the field of live events. So, post-Bataclan particularly, how much should organisers be doing/can they afford to be doing, to reassure ticketbuyers they are in safe(r) hands across the fenceline, proven in the face of real adversity? Budgets and priorities means the police can’t be present at events to the extent they used to be, but sites are safely run, and policed with a small p, by security teams like AP,” Andrew Stevens, Director of Strategic Development at the company, says. “The UK festival model is untested since Paris, but it’s built on fantastic communication and liaison. If there’s heightened risk anywhere, we all know about it. “The confidence of security/stewards at an event is paramount,” Stevens adds. “If we feel a genuine need for more staff or more resources, we can’t be shy about asking for it and organisers, in my experience, are always ready to listen.” The police service will not advocate any direct alternatives to its own presence on site, but they do exist.
Seventy five per cent of TSG Policing’s deployments are made up of experienced ex-cops, for example. Could that be a solution for season 2016 events? “All agencies need to understand their limitations and play to their strengths,” David Boswell, Founder/Managing Director of TSG, tells this magazine. “Event security companies provide the requisite resources to manage day to day security/crowd management requirements, controlling ingress and egress, for instance, manning check points, searching bags and conducting general observations.” The capacity to react to high-level incidents falls outside the remit and expectations of conventional security.
That, Boswell insists, is where TSG fits in, with its well-trained, fully equipped officers, married to expert command and control teams. “Operation Gothic is a brilliant off-site intelligence sharing platform, so event organisers and security firms can better prepare, but neither can provide trained professionals with the experience, and the ability, to deal with higher level incidents,” Boswell says. “In my opinion, event organisers should ensure they have a specialist resource in place, be it the police, TSG, or both, to manage specific threats, risks and occurrences.” Cost is always a key driver for event organisers and crisis doesn’t spawn new cash streams. So, if you’re convinced by the pitch, how do you pay for team TSG without a brutal, Osborne-style budget review? “There will always be additional costs for additional services,” Boswell says. “What TSG can guarantee, is where SPS is currently paid for, we will generate significant savings. And, where TSG is brought in as an addition to the overall event safety plan, we keep costs to a minimum.” The event season proper starts at Cheltenham Festival, mid-March; then the gates begin to open to thousands of events, big and small, mainstream and boutique, across the country.
Unaware perhaps of all the measures in place behind the scenes, festivalgoers in 2016, convinced by the lineup and managing the price, are sure to pay closer attention to the security effort they can see.
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