·
Consider the audience. What is the average age
of your attendees? Will there be alcohol? What type of day, and what events,
are the most popular? These are huge factors in planning out a crowd control strategy.
·
Consider the venue. Do you know it? Has it held
an event like this before? If you’ve held this even before, what didn’t work
about the venue?
·
Consider your staff. Are most of them new, or
have they done this before? This will help you select where staff members are
placed and what type of training they need.
·
Train your staff to be courteous. Friendly interactions
with staff members are more likely to keep crowds calm during the festivities.
·
Give your staff members uniforms. This is as
simple as having everyone wear the same T-shirt. You want staff to be easily
recognizable.
·
Provide a clear chain of command so information
gets from your staff to the right people. This is very important.
·
Be sure to brief your staff clearly. They need
to know where everything is, the procedures for a multitude of events, etc.
·
Have a clear method of communication. This may be
phones or radios, but whatever it is make sure you have it and all staff has access
to it in some way. If there is a situation requiring backup but your staff can’t
communicate that, it’s going to escalate.
·
Do your research when hiring a security service.
·
Plan the event like you are planning for your
family to attend. Think of how you want to keep them safe. That’s the same
amount of work that should go into an event for strangers. They’re trusting you
to keep them safe too, after all.
Each event is different, but each event should also have
these strategies put in play to keep events running smoothly. Happy festival
season!
