Top Priorities When Planning Your Special Event

You’re counting down the days to your big event. You’ve spent months agonizing over every detail — the food, the colour of the table linens, the guest list, the cocktails. You’re ready for the big day. But then you hear some tragic news about a crazed gunman storming into a crowded event and the aftermath is devastating. You think about your upcoming event and realize you’ve forgotten the most important aspect of planning your event: keeping people safe!

Terrorist Attacks Are Increasing

According to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), 2,961 Americans have been killed in terrorist attacks from September 11, 2001 to December 31, 2014 in the United States.1 With an alarming increase in terrorist attacks on American soil from nine incidents in 2011 to 19 in 20142, protecting people has to be your number one focus when planning and holding an event. Businesses and security companies are working together to make safety a priority.

Security Planning First

Do you have a plan if a terrorist attack occurs? Can you imagine the chaos and loss of life that may occur without a plan? Developing an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is a critical component when preparing for your event. Security company personnel need to be at the table with you when you’re planning your event as early as picking the actual venue. You may get lost in all the frilly details like talking to florists, caterers and entertainers and may overlook the importance of making security a top priority.

Security Guards Identify Risks

Security companies know where potential security breaches could take place. You might like the location of a possible site for your event because it has lots of parking or a large foyer. However, your security personnel will be assessing the perimeter of the building, access points, exits, bathrooms — areas where they’re specially trained to spot potential security problems.

Take for example the main power source for the building. Is it easily accessible by the public or is it in a locked area? If somebody throws the main breaker switch and your event is plunged into darkness, can you imagine the chaos? The same care needs to be taken with the heating and cooling systems. Security guards can watch these areas to prevent harm from happening.

Social Media Monitoring

The social media stratosphere has exploded onto the scene adding a completely different element to the way news is shared. As of the third quarter of 2016, Facebook had 1.79 billion monthly active users.3 People chat with one another or in groups on social media platforms and news is shared almost instantly after it happens. You’ve likely seen in the news that perpetrators often use social media to communicate their intentions. Monitoring social media platforms needs to be discussed with your security team and included in your EAP.

It’s all about keeping people safe at your event. Don’t leave security to chance. Your guests will thank you for it.

Sources

1,2 https://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_AmericanTerrorismDeaths_FactSheet_Oct2015.pdf

3https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

https://medium.com/@nationalsecurityguard/the-number-one-priority-when-planning-your-special-event-69f6db9ec953

About Company

NSS Event Security Guard Services provides a full array of staffing and crowd management services to major events and venues. Learn more. http://www.guardstogo.com/

Special Event Security Teams Use Effective Communication to Save Lives

Special events are exciting! Who doesn’t love being swept up in the exhilaration of a crowd awaiting the start of a concert or sporting event? But that feeling of anticipation among-st the crowd can turn to panic in a split second. We’ve all read the frightening headlines of bombings and mass shootings at concerts, sporting events, and nightclubs and the mayhem created when people are under attack.

Effective communication is one way to help minimize the chaos and panic during a crisis. No level of communication will eliminate the fallout from a terrorist attack or bombing, but clear and consistent communication could reduce the risk of injury and death.

Communicating with Event goers Is Critical to Everyone’s Safety

Event security guards are only part of the equation to keeping people safe. Event goers need to know any specific security guidelines before they arrive at the event including what items are strictly prohibited from being brought into the venue and what are allowed. Delivering guidelines with tickets, posting large signs at venue entrances, and posting information on social media sites are all excellent ways to keep event goers informed.

Guidelines are important but only work if people follow them. Rules are not put into place to prevent people from having a good time, but to help keep everyone safe from harm. It’s helpful if event security guards strictly enforce the guidelines. Special event security services work with venue management to develop the guidelines based on pre-planning and careful assessment of the event’s risk factors. Allowing event goers to ignore the rules defeats the purpose of planning and jeopardizes everyone’s safety.

Private Security Guards and Event Security Staff Need to Work as a Team

The goal is the same for all event security guards — to keep people safe from harm. Security is not territorial and no competition should exist between resident security staff and private event security personnel at any special event. The security team needs to work together following all pre-planned arrangements including making sure everyone knows where they’re working, that all entrances and exits are covered, and event security guards are enforcing security guidelines. It’s essential that all event security staff know the location of the central command center and who to report to.

Take Event Security Seriously

One key message that needs to be communicated to event goers and local officials is that you take event security seriously by providing only TRAINED event security guards to protect everyone at your venue. Hiring a few muscular ominous-looking guards to monitor exits and provide event security just doesn’t cut it these days. Security professionals from special event security services are trained to spot potential problem areas, look for windows that can be entered from the outside, count exits, identify unsecured power supply areas, monitor guest lists, and provide crowd control. 

Professional event security guards have the experience and know-how that untrained staff doesn’t.

It’s a sad reality but all special events are potential targets for terrorism, gun violence, and bombings. Whether you need private security guards for parties, one event security guard for your venue, or a team of event security specialists, effective communication is essential to the safety of everyone at a special event.

About NSS

National Security Service, LLC offers a complete portfolio of professional grade security guards services at competitive rates in 50 states and internationally. Hire Security guards for your event security with National Security Service Whether you are planning a business conference, an extravagant family wedding, or hosting a VIP event, event security should be high on your priority list.

More Info Visit: https://www.guardstogo.com/event-security-guards/

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