Security

Security relates to preventing, reducing risk and/or responding to any criminal activity or disorder committed in connection with the event.

To be considered ‘safe’ a venue should also be secure. Conversely, a venue that is not secure cannot be considered to be safe.

Security at venues depends on the following five key elements being in place:

A named individual with responsibility for security. On event days they might report directly to the Safety Officer and/or the event organiser. In some locations, it may fall within the remit of the Safety Officer.
Measures to prevent, detect and respond to, as far as is reasonably practicable, incidents of violence or criminal activity (including
terrorism) from taking place. This should be based on information and intelligence.
The venue’s security personnel should, as part of the overall safety culture within the organisation, engage with all aspects of event planning to ensure that staff in other functional areas share situational awareness.
Access controls and management plans should be in place to deny entry to non-accredited individuals and vehicles to the venue.
Plans should be in place to manage access and any vulnerable points which are intersected by areas or routes shared with the public.

Finding and maintaining a balance between measures required for safety and those required for security is one of the major challenges of event safety management.