What does the term ‘crowd control’ mean to you?
Just because a public place attracts a large number of individuals it doesn’t necessarily mean that it attracts a crowd. In fact the term ‘crowd’ is one filled with negative connotations. According to the dictionary it states that a crowd is “A large number of people gathered together, usually in a disorganised or unruly way’ If you then equate this to festivals, sporting events and concerts where many security companies operate ‘crowd control’ measures, does this mean that disorganisation and unruly behaviour reigns supreme?
On the contrary, successful crowd control is operated by highly-skilled , highly-trained security teams who understand exactly what they need to achieve. This means that they’re anything but disorganised. In fact with proper signage and barriers to control queue lines, no matter how many people pass through to get into the event, they never really become a ‘crowd’. Instead good security is more akin to public guidance than the controlling of an actual crowd.
So can this type of ‘public guidance’ system be used anywhere?
In reality there’s public guidance or crowd control wherever you go. A busy junction or intersection for example needs traffic lights or stop signs, a bank often needs queue lines in order to inform people where they need to go, amusement parks have barriers to stop people from queue jumping and even in doctor’s waiting rooms, people take a seat and are called in when the doctor is ready to see them. The point is that as humans we’re very used to being controlled or guided and when it’s not carried out correctly or successfully, this is where confusion and problems occur.
So what makes good public guidance at an event?
Queue lines should be clearly marked at entrance and exit points and should be wide enough to prevent crowd build-up or bottle-necking. Security should be stringent but quick. The faster people get through security, the easier it is to keep the people flowing. Security personnel should appear professional but friendly and compassionate. After all, in the main, people are here to to have a good time. Finally security personnel need to be vigilant and therefore should react to potential problems or respond to help as soon as possible.
The point is that most good public guidance systems are structured on common sense. If security personnel treat people how they would like to be treated, then there’s far less likely to be any antagonism and people will respond positively to being guided properly.
At MA Services Group we’ve organised and supplied security for some of the largest events in Queensland and the surrounding areas, so if you’re looking for a security company that you can trust, give us a call on 03 9994 4107 and speak to one of our friendly security experts today.
