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Crowd Management Plan (V1)
Butser Fest 2012
Harbour Court, Compass Road, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hants, PO6 4ST
Company Registration Number: 5713594
Tel: +44(0)2302 295 503 - Fax: +44(0)23 9229 3332
Email: info@vespasiansecurity.co.uk
www.vespasiansecurity.co.uk
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Document Title Crowd Management Plan
Event Butser Fest 2012
Date 15th Sept 2012
Venue Queen Elizabeth Country Park, East
Hampshire
Festival Production Manager Lucy Soal, East Hampshire District
Council Events Team
Crowd Manager (Vespasian) Oliver Gardiner
Issue Date 30/08/12
Draft # 1
This document supersedes all previous versions of the crowd management plan and
all information of which it contains. Check the draft number; the final document will
be identified as ‘final’. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are working from the
correct document.
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Contents
-Introduction Page 4
- Event Overview Page 5
- Public Access Page 6
- Artist Background Page 6
- Audience Demography Page 6
- Operational Management Page 7
- Health and Safety Risk Assessments Page 9
- Site recommendations Page 9
- Deployment Page 10
- Ingress Page 10
- Entry conditions Page 12
- Crime and Disorder deterrents Page 13
- Circulation Page 14
- Ejection Policy Page 15
- Emergency Egress Calculations Page 16
- Egress (Non emergency) Page 17
- Traffic Control Page 17
- Statement of Intent Page 18
- Training & Competency of Staff Page 20
- Vespasian meeting schedule / agenda Page 21
- Standard Operating Procedure – (Non-emergency) Page 21
- Vespasian Customer Engagement Programme – Crowd Alert Page 23
- Emergency Plan Page 23
- Standard Emergency Instructions Page 27
- References Page 29
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Introduction
The following text forms the crowd management plan for the proposed ButserFest
2012 to be held at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Hampshire. The plan will take into
account any and all aspects of the event and its planning that have an influence on
crowd management. The plan will include recommendations, calculations and
reasoning for decisions, backed up by industry best practice and academic studies.
The purposes of the crowd management plan is to set out the roles and
responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in the event, along with the appropriate
actions to be taken within the pre-agreed emergency plan. The aim of this document
is to itemise the goals of the stakeholders and how they will achieve them. The
document will also show how Vespasian Security Ltd will make every effort; where
reasonably practicable to do so, to ensure the safety of customers, contractors and
artists attending the event.
Vespasian Security Ltd subscribes to the definition of crowd management created by
the American Pedestrian planner John Fruin (1992)
“The systematic planning for, and the supervision of the orderly movement and
assembly of people. Crowd management is the assessment of the people handling
capabilities of space prior to the use. This includes the evaluation of projected levels
of occupancy, adequacy of means of ingress and egress, processing procedures
such as ticket collection, and expected types of activities and group behaviour.”
This document is the culmination of a process of continual review. The process is
dynamic and allows for input from all stakeholders until a final version is agreed upon
by all agencies.
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Event Overview
It is the intention of the ButserFest organising team to stage a one day outdoor
event. The headline music band is to be Kids in Glass Houses. The event has a
history or presenting guitar led popular artistes as headline acts throughout the
history of ButserFest. As well as live bands, throughout the day the site is to host
various activities such as a second stage playing a range of music, different play
activities such as bungee cord runs along with stalls and merchandise stands. The
event is targeted at and restricted to youth culture in the East Hampshire District
area.
The proposed 2012 ButserFest Festival is to be the seventh consecutive year that
the event has been in existence. Growing sustainably, under a not for profit profile,
ButserFest has developed into a project attracting excess of 3,000 customers. The
event safety calculations will be made on a basis of 3,000 attendees to allow for a
safety margin.
The event is a not for profit venture but does require sustainable business success
so will be charging customers to enter the site. This will be administered by a
ticketing system and regulated by coloured wristbands.
The event site – Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Petersfield, Hampshire
The event site is located at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Petersfield, Hampshire.
ButserFest anticipates a maximum attendance of 3,000 in 2012. Using current
capacity guidelines of one person per 0.5m2 the event site will be made up of a
minimum of 1,500m2.
Throughout the year Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Petersfield, Hampshire is a
popular country park and location for countryside leisure activities. The site has a
large capacity for car parking but this is located on the opposite side of the A3
carriageway. On site parking is a benefit, however the fact that it is located on the
opposite side of the A3 poses a challenge to the production team. Due to the wealth
of experience within the production team, a tried and tested system of customer pick
up and drop off as well as car parking is already in place.
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This is of benefit as it is more manageable for Vespasian teams to monitor the area
in relation to security and safety issues. The large off road car parking capacity also
reduces any adverse effects of the event on the local community.
Drainage on site appears to be sufficient around the main crowd standing and heavy
traffic areas.
Public Access
Public access to the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, is restricted by a perimeter
barrier made up by a mixture of barbed wire fencing and wooded areas. The site is a
considerable distance from any residential area when travelling on foot. This is of
benefit to the security of the site due to the demographic of the event being unable to
drive, this reduces the chance of people travelling to the site without tickets. Inside
the perimeter of the park, Butser Fest will be erecting a secondary fence line
adjacent to the decent from Butser Hill itself, to assist in sealing the event site. This
will serve to increase the level of deterrent to any persons wishing to trespass.
The perimeter is robust but should still be monitored at all times to ensure that non-
ticketed customers cannot trespass.
Artist Background
The headline artists are Kids in Glass Houses. They are typical of the types of bands
that historically perform at Butser Fest. They play hard indie rock that induces
significant crowd movement and limited ‘moshing’. The band have not history of
crowd related incidents or disorder or of artist led adverse crowd behaviour. The
band are very physically animated whilst performing on stage they have a bouncy
lively style that can cause limited crowd dynamics considerations such as high
density crowds, dynamic sways and surges. The set list of the more physically
anitmated acts such as Kids in Glass Houses should be provided to the Vespasian
Crowd Manager so personnel and resources can be put in place during performance
of specific popular tracks.
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Audience Demography
The audience demographic is expected to be split 50% male 50% female. The event
should attract large numbers of youth social groups. Young couple will also be in
attendance. There should be negligible to zero use of illegal substances and or
alcohol onsite due to the event promoting itself as a alcohol and drug free event.
The demographic will be drawn from a predominantly ‘indie rock’ background with an
element of a ‘heavy metal’ crowd. Geographically, it is planned that the audience will
be drawn from within the local area, but historically customers have been attended
from afar a field as Scotland. This will mean that the majority of the crowd will be
practised at attending the event and will know the area and general layout.
The anticipated ‘indie’ music demographic, does not historically present a challenge
in relation to the consumption of class A and B illegal substances, however cannabis
is prevalent within the demographics culture. This will be planned for in deterrent and
the provision of amnesty bins.
Deliberate crime and disorder is expected to be low. Vespasian has a range of
deterrents and anti crime and disorder measures that can be implemented to reduce
and eradicate these threats to the event and its customers. These measures will be
detailed later in this document.
There is no expectation of significant early arrival at site by customers. Provisions
will be made however for the Vespasian team to deploy earlier than planned if there
is a need to do so.
Operational Management
Crowd / Security Manager
The Crowd / Security Manager will be responsible for strategic management in terms
of the implementation of the Crowd Management Plan. This will be in consultation
with the Event’s Directors, The Event Safety Officer and the Production Manager. He
will work with the organiser and oversee and implement all strategic and tactical
security operations. He will be responsible for all staff, briefing, operations and
monitoring of the security and crowd management of the event.
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Emergency Liaison Team officer (E.L.T.) – (Vespasian)
Due to the size of the event and the number of operational staff being deployed, the
Vespasian Crowd Manager will fulfil the role of ELT officer.
The ELT officer will liaise with the Production team and all other emergency services
stakeholders. All key areas have communications with the ELT and all relevant
information is fed back.
Supervisors
The Supervisors will assist the operations team as directed and have specific
operational requirements as per their area of responsibility.
SIA Licensed Security
These staff will carry out any security function that is identified as a ‘Licensable
Activity’ under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, in and around the site to
ensure the protection and security of people, assets and property. They are entitled
to make the decisions on the suitability of persons to enter or remain in licensed
areas. This may include Body & Bag Searching, Evictions or Ejections. Their
functions focus around the maintenance of the four licensing objectives as set out by
the Licensing Act 2003.
Crowd Safety Stewards
The Crowd Safety Stewards (CSS) deployed to Buter Fest by Vespasian will seek to
work together as closely as possible with the Butser Fest volunteer stewards.
The stewards are an essential part of the event safety management team, acting as
the eyes and ears of the event manager. At all times the stewards should be aware
of and ensure the care, comfort and wellbeing of all categories of spectators. The
CSSs supplied by Vespasian will be deployed to various parts of the Butser Fest
site. All Vespasian CSSs have been trained to the standard set out by the Level 2
NVQ Award in Spectator Safety / Level 2 Award in Understanding Stewarding at
Spectator Events. Any and all CSS that are deployed to the front of stage pit barrier
(FOSPB) will have been trained and certificated by Bucks New University in their
FOSPB training course.
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The stewards ensure that they are familiar with the layout of the site and the
available facilities including First Aid, toilets and water in order to assist the public
with relevant information. They will attend pre-event briefings, ensuring they are
familiar with arrangements for evacuating the audience, including coded messages.
The stewards will carry out pre and post event checks within their working area
ensuring the site is clear prior to and post-event.
Health and Safety and Risk Assessment
All members of staff will understand their health and safety responsibilities to self
and others, including those with special needs and children. Vespasian will hold a
copy of all relevant health and safety risk assessments and procedures on site at all
times. Any person or agency wishing to view these documents may ask a member of
the Vespasian team and the paperwork can be produced.
Site recommendations
Due to the continuity within the event production team since the event’s inception, it
is the belief of Vespasian that the majority of site challenges have been under
understood and overcome. The site recommendations are there to highlight any
potential challenges relating to crowd safety and security management of the
festival.
Artist appearance
The popularity of any artiste that is signed to appear at Butser Fest should be
monitored in the run up to the event. If any one specific artiste has growing
popularity, this should be taken into account and provisions made for non-ticketed
public attempting to gain entry to the site.
This is also relevant to any specific artiste that could be booked to appear inside a
tented/enclosed structure. The crowd management risks are over population of the
structure and or crowd pressure on capacity control points. This risk can be easily
mitigated against with some prior warning, by the placement of response teams at
the location to effectively regulate entry to the tented structure. The entry points to
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the structure would then require pedestrian barrier sections to create a linear queue
system. This will reduce the risk of the ‘first come, first served’ bulk queue system
which often causes injuries to customers and staff. Once staff are in place and the
barrier system is be deployed to the tent entry positions, the tent capacity can be
managed safely.
Capacity and emergency egress width of the event site
The combined width of the gates from the main arena should have at least 4.13m to
allow for a possible occupancy of 3,000 customers during the performance of any
single artiste. This is additional to the required dedicated 5m lane for emergency
vehicles.
Deployment
The deployment of staff is itemised as part of the budget for the event. (See
Appendix 2)
Ingress
Arrival
Due to the anticipated audience being drawn from the local area ( 0-20 mile radius)
the arrival methods are predicted to be by private vehicle and a large number of
‘drop offs’.
If there is any evidence that customers have approached the site on foot, these
customers should be spoken to regarding their planned return journey and urged to
find alternative method of transport.
Queuing
Due to the expectation of a steady arrival of the customers to the site, there is no
crowd pressure anticipated prior to the arena gates opening. In the event of an early
arrival of significant numbers of customers, there should be adequate provision for a
queue to be accommodated safely outside the nominated entry gate away from
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traffic. It is planned that the sloped walkway that leads to the entry gate will adquatly
serve the purpose of queuing early arrivals. This waiting crowd should also have
access to welfare, toilets and first aid provision. Due to the low numbers of attendees
expected and the numbers of Vespasian search staff deployed to the gates, these
queue areas should only need to be used for short periods of time.
If Butser Fest and Vespasian encountered the unlikely event of a large ‘en masse’
ingress crowd, extra Vespasian team members would be deployed to the entry gate,
to maximise search capacity and assist in processing the customers as swiftly as
possible.
Entry search calculations
Due to the event being only one day long and not having the capacity for customers
to camp, there will be significantly less equipment and fewer bags to be searched
than a multi day festival.
The SIA licensed members of the Vespasian team that are to be deployed to the
arena entry gate, will have the search capacity of around 10 people per minute per
member of staff. This results in 20 people per minute processed through the gate.
Taking the search rate of 10 customers per minute, per member of staff during initial
ingress conditions, the calculations have been made below to show how the
Vespasian team could manage an early arrival queue situation.
The search team is itemised as two members of staff and they have search capacity
of 1200 people per hour. Utilising a Response Team of 3 staff to assist, the entry
gate team could safely process 1,800 people per hour. This search capacity should
be sufficient to relieve any pressure within the waiting crowd.
Number of staff
Number of customers searched per minute per member of staff
Total per hour
1 10 600
2 20 1200
3 30 1800
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4 40 2400
5 50 3000
6 60 3600
The search timings are drawn from our experience of similar events with a similar
demographic. The risk for Butser Fest is not identified as high due to it having
experienced very little if any drug or weapons related incidents in the past.
Entry conditions
Search procedure
The searches are by hand and sight alone.
Searching bags: This will consist of opening and conducting a visual and hand
search of 100% of small bags (hand bags, purses, camera bags, etc) and opening
and conducting a visual and hand search of 20% of large bags (rucksacks, holdalls,
cases). All remaining bags will be patted down as well as opened for a swift visual
check. Any groups or individuals that we believe pose a higher threat to the event
will have their belongings searched with specific attention to known ‘stash’ locations
and devices.
Searching customers: The searching of customers is carried out on the same basis
of the bags, however staff discretion is welcomed by our gate supervisors. This is to
ensure that high risk individuals do not slip through the net that is created by the ratio
of searched to unsearched. In relation to body searches, female staff will search
female customers and male staff may search male customers if required to do so
and permission is given by the individual.
Each individual is asked for their permission to be searched. As long as permission
is given the search will consist of the individual emptying their pockets of all items
before a pat down search being completed. If any subsequent items are found, the
individual is asked to remove the item from their pocket, sock etc. Any items not
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allowed entry will be given up and left at the gate to be disposed of or the person will
be allow to take the item/s to their means of transport.
Any illegal substances found will cause the implementation of the Drugs Handling
Policy. Any illegal items found, such as weapons will be made safe and the item and
the individual involved will be made known to the police if necessary.
On arrival at a queue lane, each person is subject to the above search policy. A
random sample of the audience will be body searched based on profiling. The
Vespasian team will also used targeted searching.
Admission will be by ticket only. Guests / VIPs will be in possession of valid
accreditation.
A bag and person search will be a condition of entry. Allowing for
recommendations from local police authorities, all bags will be searched.
No sound recording equipment will be allowed and people will be advised to
take them back to their means of transport.
Vespasian Security Ltd will accept no responsibility for any item left in their
care.
Bins will be provided for the collection of any items that are refused entry into
the arena. In the region of one bin for every two search lanes.
No glass is permitted in the arena.
No controlled substances are allowed on site.
No smoking in any covered, enclosed or working areas of the site
No dogs (other than assistance dogs) or pets are permitted on site.
Crime and Disorder Deterrents
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The crime and disorder deterrents deployed by Vespasian Security are measures
drawn from the model of high visibility patrolling used by many police forces around
the UK in city centre drinking areas. It is proven that the use of high visibility patrols
actively reduces the instances of crime and disorder in the areas that it is used. The
festival attendees are encouraged to view Vespasian staff posted to static locations
as points of contact and reassurance. In turn these locations are also known to the
customers as having a security presence, this serves to actively reduce the
likelihood of crime and disorder within line of sight distance of any static deployment
location.
Illegal Substance Deterrent Measures
In previous years Butser Fest has utilised the services of Dog Handling teams
specialising in the use of drugs detection dogs. Many Butser Fest customers return
year after year, thus the historical presence of the Drugs Dogs will deter customers
from brining illegal substances to the site. Following on from the event website
outlining the events’ policy and attitude toward drugs possession and usage, the
Vespasian team members will be tasked with identifying the sign of drugs usage.
The website should also outline the ramifications of being caught with illegal
substances on site i.e. Police intervention.
The search procedure at the entry gate will also act as a deterrent for drug
possession and resulting usage.
The Drugs Handling Policy (DHP) details the procedures relating to suspected illegal
substances and their safe storage, recording and handling. The DHP will be provided
to all relevant stakeholders prior to the event.
Circulation
During the day of the festival, customers will circulate throughout the event site, with
the exception of the restricted access areas. As the customers move from one area
to another they will be subject to wristband checks to confirm they are paying
customers and monitoring by the Vespasian team to ensure they are suitable to
remain on site.
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Crowd Migration
During specific times of the event such as when the main stage headline artiste
finishes performing, there will be crowd migration from a single area of the site to
another over a short period of time. This crowd migration will be anticipated and
planned for.
Mobile teams will be deployed to gate control points that lead from the main arena
and instructed to assist the Vespasian team at that location in maintaining a
continual, unheeded flow of crowd. During large migrations such as this, the internal
arena gate will be turned into single direction gates until the crowd flow has reduced
to a level where two-way foot traffic can be reinstated.
The Vespasian Crowd Manager will monitor the crowd migration from the main arena
from a vantage point. To assist Vespasian staff at static locations, Response Teams
will be strategically placed to re-direct customers from ground level.
Ejection policy
Where reasonably practicable, all those ejected / escorted from the site will pass via
the main entry gate where the Vespasian team will issue them with an ejection slip.
This ejection paperwork will tell the person the reason why they have been asked to
leave / removed from the site. At this point the Vespasian team will also take a digital
picture of the person to keep records of all those removed and verify the physical
state of the person at the point of ejection.
All Vespasian Response Teams will also be accompanied by a Mobile Camera
Operator or be wearing a Body Worn Camera (RS2). This person is tasked with
filming the Response Team during altercations and ejections to ensure that there
can be no malicious accusations against the Vespasian team members involved.
This footage is also invaluable in cases where the police authorities are involved and
they wish to prove continuity. All footage, paperwork and images collected in this
system will be secured and controlled by Vespasian in accordance with the Data
Protection Act.
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All those ejected from site will have their accreditation removed and instructed that
they should not return to the site. Prior to any ejection, all customers requiring
ejection will be quizzed as to their age to ensure that minors are not being removed
from site without the presence of a guardian.
Emergency Egress Calculations
To enable 3,000 people to exit the arena in an emergency within a ten minute
evacuation target time, there must be 4.13m of exit width (calculations included in
table below). To increase the safety margin this figure should be rounded up to 5m.
The 10 minute evacuation time is taken from the HM Government publication Fire
Safety Risk Assessment: Open Air Events and Venues (p.63). The risk assessment
for the event site is as a ‘Low Risk’ site as HM Government (p.63) states The risk to
people from fire outdoors may generally be viewed as lower than that in an indoor
situation, simply because people are less likely to be affected by smoke and heat
and their escape routes are much less likely to be cut off.
Exit width is made up of the combined width of all of the emergency exit gates that
are available to use for an evacuation. There should also be a separate entry to the
event site that is designated for the use of emergency vehicles only. The gate
designated for the emergency service vehicles should be wide enough for the
purpose and have an all weather surface if possible.
Number of
attendees
Number of people
per minute through
one unit width under
emergency egress
situation
Evacuation
target time in
minutes
Unit
width in
meters
Exit
capacity
required in
meters
3,000 ÷ 40pppm ÷ 10min × 0.55 = 4.13m
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Taking into account the requirement for an emergency services vehicle gate and the
4.13m having been rounded up to 5m, there should be 5 meters exit capacity added
to the figure shown in the above table. This results in a total exit width from the main
arena 10m.
Egress (Non-emergency)
Those having arrived by a particular mode of transport will most likely return by the
same method.
Due to the age of the demographic it is expected that the vast majority of the
attendees will be picked up by parents or other relatives. The fields behind the
Queen Elizabeth Country Park Visitors’ Centre are used as car park waiting areas.
Response teams and car parking stewards are placed to assist both pedestrians and
drivers during egress. Pedestrians are directed along the pathways, through the A3
underpass to the safe, lit parking areas behind the visitors centre.
At the end of the evening the egress will take place from the main stage arena
towards the entry gate, until the point that the exit can be shut to allow the sweep to
confirm the arena is clear of customers. From experience we expect the arena
should clear in 20-30 minutes. Appropriate site lighting will be positioned along all
egress routes en route to the campsite and main gate.
Any person presenting themselves as being vulnerable and unaware of the location
or arrival time of their guardian will be directed to the welfare team.
Traffic control
Vespasian is deploying team members to the traffic management and car parking
duties effort for the event. These staff will follow the pre-agreed traffic management
plan for the site including working as closely as possible with the EHDC team
volunteers.
Backstage Security Arrangements
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A structured security pass system will be in operation. All personnel that are either
working or are guests will be required to have the appropriate accreditation to
facilitate them being in that particular area.
Artists arrivals and Parking
All backstage traffic will be processed via the production gate.. On the event day as
much information as possible will be made available to the Vespasian Crowd
Manager and backstage Vespasian staff to ensure smooth ingress and egress of
artist and production vehicles.
Statement of Intent
This Statement of Intent details the responsibilities agreed between Vespasian
Security Ltd and Butser Fest Production team (Lucy Soal, East Hampshire District
Council) as the Organiser of, Butser Fest at Queen Elizabeth Country Park,
Hampshire.
Vespasian Security Ltd has agreed to provide Crowd Management Services to
Butser Fest at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Hampshire. Vespasian Security Ltd
will focus on the following points of service provision when reasonably practicable to
do so:
1. To monitor the ingress of the public to the venue in a safe and orderly fashion,
and where reasonably possible, pro-actively employ crowd management
methods to ensure the safe population of this area.
2. To monitor the patrons and report any public disorder to the control.
3. To monitor crowd density from the front of stage barriers and to assist with
any casualty extraction from the audience area. A predetermined system will
be in place to escort medical teams to the location of the casualty.
4. To enforce any pass system designed by the client.
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5. To assist the designated Event Safety Manager, and the Emergency Services
in any evacuation, partial or full, of the site, in accordance with the agreed
emergency plan.
6. To monitor and deter patrons from theft and vandalism to any temporary or
permanent structures where practical and reasonable with a view to reporting
to the necessary authorities.
7. The Event Safety Manager is responsible for the evacuation of the site and
venue area. Vespasian Security Ltd will follow the direction of the Safety
Manager and the emergency services. In the event of a major incident,
Vespasian will hand over all its resources to the attending Police Commander
and will be directed there on in. If no Police Commander is on hand
Vespasian will monitor and act to increase safety where reasonably
practicable until emergency services can attend the incident.
8. To uphold the four main objectives of the Licensing Act 2003 as itemised
below;
the prevention of crime and disorder
public safety
the prevention of public nuisance
the protection of children from harm
This includes the provision of security staff licensed by the Security Industry
Authority to undertake ‘licensable activities’.
Vespasian Security Ltd has not got responsibility for:
- Traffic management around the externals of the site or parking on the surrounding
streets.
- Any co-ordination or responsibility of lost property or lost children. Vespasian staff
will, however, direct lost property to the appropriate handling station and escort lost
children to the designated point.
- Any Health and Safety issues regarding any other parties other than those who are
employed by Vespasian Security Ltd.
-Actions taken by agents other than employees of Vespasian Security Ltd.
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Vespasian Security Ltd subscribes to the definition of crowd management as
itemised on page 5 of this document.
Training and Competency of Staff
All levels of Vespasian Security staff receive specific training in relation to their
responsibilities within the organisation. Throughout the operational management and
directorship structure, further higher educational qualifications are required. All staff
must pass all qualifications of those that they lead before progressing to the next
level of the organisation.
Crowd Manager – Foundation Degree Crowd Safety Management from Bucks New
University.
Operational Managers – Level 3 NVQ in Spectator Safety and enrolled on the above
course
Operational Supervisors – Level 3 NVQ Spectator Safety, Specialist Unit Training
courses including Anti-Organised Crime initiatives, Counter Campsite Crime,
Counter Ticket-Touting and Emergency First Aid at Work.
SIA Door Supervisor grade crowd management staff – All must maintain minimum
Security Industry Licensed grade of Door Supervisor.
Crowd Safety Stewards – All staff must be qualified or enrolled upon an NVQ Level 2
Qualification in Spectator Safety or Level 2 Award in Understanding Stewarding at
Spectator Events.
Specific Team Training – Specialist teams such as those staff deployed to the Front
of Stage Pit Barrier will also receive extra training relating to the roles and
responsibilities. Response Team staff will also receive training to Level 2 Award in
Physical Intervention. All members of Vespasian’s Specialist Unit, receive focused
training in anti-organised crime initiatives and covert operations
Staff competency
All staff occupying roles from Operational Supervisor up to Crowd Manager must
have displayed several key attributes throughout previous operational deployments.
21
Before each member of the team is considered for promotion and the resulting
training, they must first be recommended and seconded by two of their colleagues.
Vespasian meeting schedule / agenda
Every day the Vespasian team are operational on the event site the Vespasian
Crowd Manager aims to meet with Butser Fest production stakeholders three times
per day to maintain a clear line of communication. Each meeting can be held either
in an office environment or out on site. The meeting should cover the following
points:
incidents of note
changes to the artiste programming
emerging trends within the crowd or types of incident
rumours / intelligence drawn from the Specialist Unit operations and the
Crowd Safe customer liaison initiative
the stability of the ground under foot
the weather forecast and how it may affect the management of the event
before the next meeting
how the deployed team could adapt to the new challenges emerging onsite
A brief record should be made of the time of the meeting, location and any outcome.
This record should be logged with the Vespasian Radio Control Room Operator.
Standard operational procedure - Non emergency
The Vespasian team members deployed to the event site in the run up to the days of
customer occupation are know and the ‘Load In Team’. This Load In Team, will
assist the Butser Fest production team in the control of vehicle entry and exit from
the event site with their duties focused on the security of the site and loss prevention
relating to the infrastructure.
Saturday 15th Sept
22
The Vespasian team will have taken over key entry control points at the time
itemised on the attached deployment breakdown. The Vespasian team will also be
monitoring the arrival of all customers, contractors, artists and emergency
stakeholders onto the site to ensure the integrity of the pass system that will be
issued by the Butser Fest Production Team. The Vespasian team will monitor all pre-
agreed locations and perimeters to ensure security and integrity of the site.
Any early arrival of customers will be monitored and managed. Butser Fest
Production will be notified by Vespasian Supervisor / Management if Vespasian
believes that this queue constitutes a Health and Safety risk. A joint decision relating
to the safe management of this early arrival will be taken and recorded. (An area
clear from vehicle access will be pre-agreed to be used as a ‘Disney Queue’ location
for this specific purpose).
Prior to customer ingress beginning, a site walk of the relevant area will be
conducted in conjunction with the Butser Fest Production Team and the festivals
nominated Safety Officer, Linda Krawecke. This site walk is to confirm the suitability
of the opening area for customer circulation.
The Vespasian Radio Control Room Operator will call all active call signs to ensure
they are all in position prepared for entry. Once the site is checked and it has been
agreed upon that the area is suitable to be populated, the Vespasian Radio
Controller will call for the entry search gate to begin admitting customers by calling
“All call signs, all call signs, doors are green, doors are green”.
The Vespasian team will be assisted by volunteer stewards in the effective
population of the camping areas to ensure that the space is used as efficiently as
possible.
Once this entertainment has ceased, the Vespasian team will conduct an egress of
the time limited areas of the site. This will be administered by the Vespasian team
forming an egress line and ushering customers toward the camping areas of the site.
Once the customers are clear of the time limited areas of the site, the access points
to these areas will be secured and monitored to ensure customers do not gain entry
to these areas during the night.
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The Crowd Manager would then hand over the site to the Vespasian team after a full
briefing of the events of the day.
Vespasian customer engagement programme – Crowd Alert
The Vespasian customer engagement programme is designed to create a culture of
trust between the festival customers and the security and crowd management team.
This is done by the distribution of information to the Butser Fest attendees through
social media networking sites, flyers and posters. Using these different delivery
methods, the Butser Fest customers will be
introduced to Vespasian
told who the security manager is for the festival
encouraged to make positive contact with the Vespasian staff
given useful event safety tips
given useful personal security tips
offered simple anti-theft measures such as lanyards to purchase from the
security compound
given a direct contact number for the Vespasian control room along with direct
email and social networking addresses for the Vespasian team
encouraged to see the Vespasian team as being ‘here to help’
asked to contact the Vespasian team if they believe they may have
information that may be of use to us
be made aware of key locations such as first aid and the security office
Emergency Plan (Stewarding and Security Specific)
Purpose of Emergency Plan:
It is recognised that whilst the potential for a major incident to develop at well-
managed event such as Butser Fest is low, the consequences of such an incident
are high. With this in mind, the Organiser and the Emergency Services recognise
that pre-event planning will need to take into account such an eventuality.
24
Based along existing major incident guidance and working practice, and taking into
account other relevant experiences, this document is designed to comprehensively
detail the operational actions which are to be taken by relevant parties involved in
the management of the event.
Event Monitoring System – Evacuation Procedures:
There are three alert states relating to the call to evacuate, but it must be recognised
that in exceptional circumstances it may not be possible to initiate the standby phase
of the evacuation, due to an instantaneous cause of an evacuation.
On raising the alert state, the Security Control room operator / Crowd Manager will
notify the Emergency Liaison Team. When raising the alert state, the Security
Control Room / Crowd Manager should use the relevant internal code word to notify
all radio holders. The relevant codes will be included in all stewarding briefing
documents as well as briefings given to all emergency services. The following coded
messages will be used on all radio channels to step up or step down the alert state:-
‘Green’ Indicates
There is a free flow of public both inside and outside the site. No problems reported.
‘Amber’ Indicates
Unusually heavy pressure on entrances into site with no free flow and areas of crowd
density over 0.3 in large areas, or the site is full to capacity or there is a bomb threat,
threat of fire or threat of crowd disorder or potential structural collapse.
‘Red’ Indicates
On advice from the Events Manager, the Security Manager or the Event Safety
Officer in consultation with the Police that the situation warrants a red grading or a
suspect explosive device or confirmed fire, crowd disorder or structural collapse.
The evacuation of the site would depend upon the area and the information
available.
Part Evacuation
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Where condition RED is in a controlled area (i.e. Backstage, section of F.O.H. entry
gate, etc.), the event may be continued, so as not to cause panic. However the stage
manager remains on stand-by to accept instructions or the order to halt the show.
Emergency Management Plan
Emergency evacuation strategy is based on Simme’s empirical research into crowd
psychology during escape from disaster i.e. T1 (time to interpret) + T2 (time to move)
Full Evacuation
Once the Emergency Services Liaison Team has advised that a full evacuation is
necessary, it will be carried out as per Standing Instructions. Additional instructions
will be given by the Security Manager or Control Room Operations Manager as
follows:
1. Place all radios and operators under the direction of the E.L.T.
2. Advise site medical staff.
3. Set-up information point to advise the public.
4. Direct any queries for casualty information to Police Control.
5. Direct any press or media to Police Control.
6. No vehicle movement, other than emergency services, will be permitted.
Once the site has been evacuated, all gates will be closed and staffed by security.
All other staff will be instructed to report to their R.V. Points for accountability.
Re-admission to the site will only be authorised by the Emergency Services Liaison
Team.
Operational Action
Condition Amber
In the event that an Amber Condition is declared, the Control Room Manager will
activate the following plan.
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1. Control Room Manager will confirm with the Police they are aware of the
situation.
2. Control Room Manager will advise Vespasian Head of Security.
3. The Vespasian Security Manager should instruct his Supervisors to
immediately go to the location as directed by Control and co-ordinate the
incident.
4. The Vespasian Security Manager will go directly to the Emergency services
Liaison Office and co-ordinate the security operation with the relevant
authorities.
5. All Supervisors on the command channel are to maintain radio silence until
contacted by Control. All radio holders on the general channel are to await
instruction from Control.
6. Event Production Office will be informed.
7. All parties will be advised of the exact area of the threat by reference to a
common grid map.
8. Evacuation “Stand By” for all teams will be as per Standing Instructions.
9. All Exit & Entry gates are to prepare for evacuation of the site by arranging for
all obstacles to be removed. Information to members of the public regarding
the situation will be passed via a public address system, or loudhailer, to
those located around the perimeter in order to prevent unrest.
10. Any cars parked in any area on site, or cars parked on site should be
prevented from exiting onto public roads.
11. The R.V. Points for Emergency Vehicles are to be manned and secured.
Where the incident is contained, “Condition Green” will be declared and all
parties will be advised using the “Stand Down” code. Where the situation
could become serious, a “Stand By” for Condition Red will be issued.
Condition Red
Where the incident is considered as very serious, The Control Room Manager will
now receive instructions directly from the Emergency Liaison Team and will direct all
security staff to assist the Emergency services as requested whilst the situation
exists. The Security Manager will immediately issue the following instructions.
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1. Declare “Condition Red”
2. All Exit & Entry gates to be cleared of any obstructions. (Barriers, queues,
refuse etc.)
3. The R.V. Points to be secured for Emergency Services and Emergency routes
to be cleared.
4. Pedestrians to be directed away from the threat and the incident area to be
secured.
5. Cars parked in any area such as backstage to be secured to prevent exit to
the public roads. Exception would be made for artists where circumstances
would allow. These would be encouraged to leave.
6. Designated person to halt the Show.
Standard Emergency Instructions – Stewards
Staff are to be familiar with the site emergency plan.
Notify Security Control direct or via Supervisor if fire has started. Attack the fire
without taking personal risk.
If you see a suspect package, secure the immediate area and contact a Supervisor
or inform Security Control direct.
Should the alert state be raised to “Code Amber” the following announcement will
be broadcast over the radio network system as an initial warning for Stewards:
“A message for event officials – Operator one should go to event control”
Should the alert state be upgraded to “Code RED” the following warning to stand-by
for evacuation will be sent over the radio:
“A message for event officials – Operator one has arrived at event control”
If a full evacuation has to be carried out, the following announcement will be made
from the stage p.a. & screens:
“Ladies and gentlemen this is a safety announcement. Due to circumstances beyond
our control the event is unable to continue. Could you please vacate the arena by
walking to any available exit as quickly as possible”.
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On hearing the above announcement, stewards will assist the crowd to disperse. On
reaching the perimeter gates staff will secure and prevent re-entry to the site until ‘all
clear’ is received. On completion of evacuation all stewards not on duty are to report
to the designated R.V. Point for roll call.
If the situation is contained and or the problem solved the following “stand down”
message will be sent over the radio network:
“A message for event officials – Operator one is no longer required at event control.”
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References
Ambrose,J (2001) The violent world of moshpit culture. London: Omnibus Press
Fruin, JJ. (1993) The causes and prevention of crowd disasters. Published seminar
paper in Engineering for Crowd Safety: Ed Smith, RA. and Dickie, JF: Elsevier Press
BV.
HM Government. (2007) Fire safety risk assessment: open air events and venues. London:
Department for Communities and Local Government Publications
HSE. (2000) Managing crowds safely. 2nd ed. London: HSE.
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