Managing people in events

Crowd safety at an event is related to space, the attractions on offer, the environment, surroundings and effective management of human behaviour. Compliance with regulations and the application of standards of best practice can go a long way to ensuring safe venues and activities, but the most difficult factor to manage at events is human behaviour. This article address how event staff can manage the behaviour of the attendance at the event to prevent as far as possible crowd related accidents/incidents and ensure enjoyment of the event.

When we think of events and managing peoples behaviour we tend to think of large gatherings, but poor management and a poorly designed layout can cause injury and unsafe behaviour irrespective of the numbers in attendance. For example allowing twenty people into a room designed for ten, adding extra chairs and tables to the space and placing obstructions at entrances and exits will result in an overcrowded space. Making no effort to alleviate the situation will have a negative effect on people’s behaviour with the net result of compromising the safety of the people in the room.

It is important at this stage to make a distinction between crowd management and crowd control. If you take the word ‘crowd’ out there is a distinct difference between ‘management’ and ‘control’, crowd management is proactive while crowd control is reactive. Crowd control will only be required when problems are encountered. Most problems with crowds can be prevented or quickly resolved when all aspects of crowd management are well organized. 

People attend an event for a specific purpose; effective crowd management adds to the enjoyment of the event and can reduce risk of injury. The key components of a crowd management system are:

• Clear directions, facilitated by steward’s instructions, signage and way marking.

• Ease of movement, facilitated by allowing sufficient space per person and active monitoring of bottlenecks and areas where congestion could occur.

• Ease of escape, ensuring there are sufficient exits leading to a place of safety and training stewards in evacuation procedures.

Generally people attending an event are not familiar with the venue or the type of event may be different from others they have attended at the same venue. The number and size of entrances and exits, viewing arrangements, the presence of clear directional signage, public information systems, well designed pedestrian flow routes and queuing systems and the presence of well trained, courteous and knowledgeable stewarding personnel are all influencing factors on crowd behaviour and can assist with preventing frustration and anger which can lead to problems of control.

In circumstances where it is anticipated that crowd control may be an issue it is appropriate to draw up a statement of intent in advance concerning the relative responsibilities of the  security companies and the event stewards, the written document should make it clear which positions will be staffed by whom and who will assume responsibility in particular circumstances. This will assist with the formulation of clear procedures for ejecting or detaining persons who break venue rules.