We’ve come across many events that have failed due to lack of crowd management staff and techniques. An unmanaged crowd is a significant threat to your event. You must make proper arrangements to make the crowd feel secure and safe. Below are the ways in which you can plan a thorough crowd control scheme.

1.     Staff

Once you have the final head-count for your event, you must organize sufficient security staff to control the crowd efficiently. Currently, the recommended ratio for security guards to attendees is 1:5, i.e., one guard for every five people. The staff you hire should be fully competent to handle extreme situations. They should screen all entrants, monitor attendee behavior and take remedial actions if necessary, and be alert to removing trouble making attendees.

2.     Access and barricades

You need to ensure that your event has a clear barricade only allowing registered attendees in. Temporary fencing is ideal for short events as it is cost effective, quick to erect and manage and can also be used as an advertising medium for your event. These barriers can also be used to form lines at the entrance gate, food stalls and even bathrooms. In this way, you can ensure that no quarrels arise due to cutting off the queue.

You must also figure out a way to identify the attendees. You could use a wrist band, hand stamp or printed tickets which could be scanned at the entrance.

3.     Communication

In case of emergencies, all security staff should have a clear plan and should be able to communicate effectively. They must be equipped with radios or mobile plans, on which they could receive instructions, updates, and alerts.

4.     Risk plan

You have to calculate and weigh in all the hazardous factors before developing a risk plan. Once the plan is clear, you must make sure that all the security staff is made to understand their role and responsibility. You must also brief them about how to diffuse a potentially violent situation, without physical intervention. They must also be trained on the effects of drugs typically used at venues and events.

5.     Emergency plan

What will happen if a brawl breaks out? You require a detailed emergency plan for such instances. This needs to be communicated to all staff before the event. This would help to deal with the situation effectively and with ease.

6.     First aid plan

This is one of the most important aspects to look into. You must be prepared to at least provide first aid to attendees. The staff should know about all the services and medicines you can offer and must be prepared to maintain and calm the tension that could arise due to such instances. It will benefit you if the security staff you hired is trained in giving first aid to the most common types of injuries.

There are dozens of ways to implement efficient crowd control. It is important to remember that planning crowd control can be timely and costly but is essential to a successful event.