Most people are aware of the basic responsibilities of a security guard. Protecting people and property from the threat of criminal activity and a range of other threats.
You will probably see security guards every day protecting the entrance to your local supermarket or shopping centre and don’t bat an eyelid, and it is all too easy to take the service that they provide for granted.
The importance of security guards at events cannot be overstated, and you only have to look at the horrendous events of terror attacks at concerts, sports matches, and other major events across the world to see why it is so vital that event security is put in place.
But what exactly is it that security guards so at these events to keep attendees safe, prevent unauthorised individuals from gaining access, and generally ensure the whole process goes as smoothly as possible.
No matter if you are considering becoming an event security guard yourself, or are organising your own event and wondering what roles and responsibilities you can expect them to perform on your behalf this article is here to help, breaking down the key services that an event security guard offers.
Which security services are required at events?
Event security is a job with an extremely broad job description. Whilst there are certainly a few common tasks that these professionals provide on almost every job, there are other skills they possess that will be only used at certain events when the nature of the venue and occasion calls for them.
For example, security guards are trained in crowd control, ensuring a safe and orderly entrance and exit to the venue for all attendees. This is vital when there are a huge number of visitors, at a festival or concert for example, and may include additional responsibilities to keep fans separated at a sports match where tensions are high. However, the need for crowd control at a small conference or political speech is much lower, with the security instead focussing on guarding against protests and those intent on disruption the occasion.
In order to determine exactly which services you need at your event, you need to carry out a risk assessment, or have a professional security firm carry one out for you, identifying what threats you will face and how to counteract them.
What services do security guards offer?
The most important duties of any event security guard include:
Organising parking
Perhaps not the most exciting responsibility if you are considering becoming an event security guard yourself, but a vital one, nevertheless.
Around 10% of all crimes occur in car parks and with a huge number of vehicles descending on one location, providing suitable protection in this area is vital to a secure event.
If you are looking to keep guests safe, providing suitable safe parking areas is key, and security guards will help you to facilitate this.
Deal with emergency incidents
When you think of security guard working at an event emergency response is probably what you think of. Hopefully, if your security systems work as they should, the chance of an emergency incident is pretty low, but it is impossible to completely eliminate all risk.
If a fight breaks out, there is a terror alert, an attendee is taken ill, or anything else occurs that requires an emergency rapid response to protect the health and safety of all inside the venue, it is security guards who will provide it.
During their training for an SIA licence, the legal qualification for those providing security guarding services, security guards will go through training on conflict resolution, first aid provision, working with the emergency services, and much more. They will be a clam head and a calming presence should an emergency situation arise, keeping everyone safe and secure until help arrives.
Screening entrants
Recent events across the globe have highlighted in devastating fashion what can happen if firearms or explosives are brough inside an event venue. Security guards will conduct searches at the entrance to your event to screen for any unauthorised weapons or good that could do harm.
This is an incredibly important task and may well be carried out with the assistance of Xray or metal detection technology and sniffer dogs. Security dogs are some of the most useful assets for any event security guard company to have at their disposal. These highly trained canine units have finely attuned senses of smell honed to detect scents such as drugs, gunpowder, explosives, and more, making them far more effective at searching entrants for illicit items without holding up the crowd than a human security guard would be.