Crowd Control Tips

Crowd control is a big issue when organizing shows, concerts or even political events when multitudes of people are expected to come. Poor planning and not employing crowd control strategies can result to injury or even disaster. We’ve already seen news reports of people sustaining injuries due to stampede on big concerts or sporting events. Indeed, it is imperative for organizers to develop crowd control strategies when planning a big event.

Some of the things that organizers should be looking into to prevent major crowd disaster is organization and traffic control. People should be guided accordingly on where to enter or exit the establishment. Make sure that there are good signages that will give people clear directions. Providing adequate number of admission areas or concession booths can also help to prevent long queues.

There should also be adequate number of volunteers or security personnel that can take appropriate steps and can immediately respond in case of trouble situations. These personnel should be properly trained of the protocols and procedures so they will know what to do in cases of emergency. They should also make sure that people are moving in an orderly manner especially if they need to stay in lines. Using crowd control products such as stanchions and velvet rope can help people stay in lines. If you need to separate areas for privacy and security reasons, barricades can also be used. It is also best to make provisions for a public address system so in case of emergency you can communicate to the crowd and guide them consequently.

To avoid overcrowding, doors and capacity should be monitored to limit people from going in and out. They should also make sure that when the maximum capacity of the venue has been reached, no further entry should be allowed as this could create congestion problems.

The safety of the people should always be the main consideration when planning for an event, no matter how big or small. Careful planning as well as employing simple strategies can normally make or break the success of the event.