Crowd Management at Events: Best Practices & Techniques

Concerts, conferences, and festivals offer enrichment, entertainment, and fulfillment; however, they certainly pose some security risks. Even relatively safe and low-risk events still need to be planned well to ensure the safety of attendees and employees.

In large crowds, minor issues can lead to severe problems. For example, a medical situation can be extremely dangerous if the person can't escape the crowd. There are also more extreme cases where people can get stuck or even trampled.

So, it's vital to take steps to ensure best practices for crowd management at any large event. Learn some practical techniques in this guide from Unparalleled Security. 

The Importance of Risk Assessment in Event Security Planning

The first step in crowd management for events is creating a risk assessment document. You want to sit down with the event organizers and determine potential safety and security risks and what can be done to mitigate them.

Some events, like a local farmers market or trade shows, are lower risk, while others, like a huge concert, have much higher risks. However, all bigger events require some planning for crowd management. 

You should list all the potential risks and determine how likely these problems will occur. Then, you should develop plans and protocols to address each situation. 

Create an Incident Plan

Whether you're organizing or promoting, have a list of all potential incidents that can occur and create a unique metric for any events you're planning so you can cover all your bases. There is only so much security guards can and can't do, so coordinate with local authorities, medical teams, and your staff to have an enhanced communication network in the event of an emergency. 

You can also look at similar events in the past and compare to see if there's any data available that might give you a better understanding of potential hazards and risks to account for.

Know Your Attendees

Knowing the reactivity and composition of the crowd can help you implement more effective strategies. Some events can excite the attendees, and you're going to need to beef up your security with patrol services in case anyone gets out of hand. 

Even in controlled environments, there can be higher levels of excitability, so be prepared and do your best to predict your audience's behavior based on your event to give you a more even playing field and keep everyone safe.

Choosing the Right Security Company: Factors to Consider for Event Protection

Choosing a reliable security company is one of the most important things to do when planning crowd management for an event. Most events require some level of security personnel, and the more risks present, the more security personnel should be on site.

Some of the factors to consider for crowd management at events include:

• How many people will be in attendance
• Where are the entrances and exits and will they be monitored
• If bags are searched
• Where will medical services be offered
• If the parking lots and garages need security

An experienced security company can help you answer these questions and determine the best action to lessen security and safety risks. 

Work with Crowd Management & Event Security Professionals

At Unparalleled Security, we have extensive experience working events in the St. Paul area. Our trained professionals are ready to be on-site for all kinds of events, and we also offer protection for VIPs. 

Call today at 651-300-1515 to learn more about crowd management and event security.