Key Aspects Of Security Management - Report Example

SM and Section # of The report presents a short ofhow security cover can be efficiently provided to a high profile event. The job of a security manager or a security head while the event is on as well as the time to its build-up has been effectively laid out in this report. Several security threats like crowd control, traffic management and terrorism threats have been covered. Also to add to the authenticity of the control, measures to sustain any kind of known or unknown incident have been mentioned along the course of the report. Special emphasis on the VIPs attending the event has been covered as well in this security management report. All in all a complete security picture has been painted through this report. Security Management Security in the current scenario of ever-changing geo-political situation is the major talking point of any high profile event. This is due to the nature of damage any security lapses bring in such an event, both financial and moral. The report describes a detailed insight of security arrangements made for a high profile event. The event under discussion is a family festival in the capital of a small yet important country named Pakistan. The festival, takes place on the eve of Christmas, many dignitaries including the members of the American conciliate are invited. Hence the need for maximum security arrangements has been felt and a team of security consultants have been called in from the U.S.A. The detail of the event along with the security arrangements made to tackle any kind of a contingency has been chalked out in this report. Also, features like VIP movement and other factors have been highlighted. All in all, this report outlines all the measures that have been taken for the smooth running of this family gala, which takes place in a country where the security conditions are not ideal. Event Before coming to the actual arrangements, it is very important to know the gravity of the situation and the kind of the event that has to be handled. Only then one can understand the need for security measurements needed at the venue. As briefly stated before, it is a carnival for Christian families living in the federal capital of Pakistan. As Pakistan is a Muslim country, this is not a holiday season and therefore normal life routines are not halted for Christmas. This festival is an invite only event with many VIPs on the guest like the ambassadors of U.K and U.S. Since the invites have been sent already, the background check on all the guests has been carried out using the help of local law enforcing agencies. Any security lapse can be a serious opening for any disruptive activity by the miscreants. All security aspects should been seen under the microscope, as the magnitude of the event is such that any kind of half measures on the part of the security team will most definitely result in unfavorable situations for the reputation of the country and the safety of the guests. Venue The venue for this family carnival is a park located in the heart of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. The map extracted from Google Maps™ (Google, 2012) shows the aerial view of the park, the routes which lead into and out of the park. This park is located in the sector F-9 of Islamabad and is named "Fatima Jinnah Park" after the sister of the founder of this country. The figure also shows the four entrance points that are being used by people for going in and out of the park. Also the red highlighted section shows the exact location of the festival taking place. Also it shows the parking and many security hazards that will be explained later in the report along with the counter-measures taken by the security management team. Figure 2 shows a close-up of the main venue and the parking lots have been marked. Figure 1: Fatima Jinnah Park, Islamabad, Pakistan Figure 2: Close-up of the main venue and parking lots General Security Concerns The first and foremost requirement for monitoring and controlling any event is the establishment of the control room. This is the central location from where all the security agencies are controlled, making in a centralized operation with one man running the show causing less havoc in the time of any emergency, if it arises. The position of the control room, which is a temporary establishment, has been shown on figure 2, depicted by a red box. Site Survey Although the event and venue has been explained in detail in documents but the actual survey and on ground notes can only be made while making the on ground race. This will be done by the search party made to form any sort of threat analysis on ground. The main reason for this party is to locate the dimensions and any kind of threat to those parameters. The cordoning area that has to be covered and also the figuring out of command post is also the prime responsibility of the site survey team. Also surveying of a site is the first and foremost step in the operation of a security setup. This is a step-by-step procedure before the actual implementation of the security plan which facilitates the understanding of areas to be covered and checked (VS, 2012). Access Control Very important aspect of the event is the people who are allowed to freely move in all sections of the park or those who are guests. This comes under the area of access control and is the responsibility of the event manager and security head. Another step will be providing all the security staff with clearance badges with photo-ID it. The control room can be accessed by senior supervisors, again identified by a different color code id-card. This would screen out any miscreants and also provide a clear state of the people involved in the whole operation (Shuster, 2012). The area around the park walls will also be guarded by the local police. That will be the first line of defense, the second being the inner cordon provided by armed guards with the authority to soot any person who tries to infiltrate without proper identification cards as the guests will only be entering through one entrance. Traffic control Since the event is an invite only, gate crashers are the only crowd threat to the event. The first concern is about the influx of vehicles that will be flowing into the venue which may also have protocol vehicles causing traffic jam on the starting end of the gate. The amount of cars, if stuck at a chocking it will cause a serious hazard to the security staff and also a protocol hazard. This is a big security concern as this can very easily start a disturbing argument among the guests which is highly undesirable. Therefore a plan has been chalked out for the influx and out fluxes of the cars. The visual depiction of the plan has been shown in figure 3. The yellow lines show the road that will be allowed only for the in-coming of the cars. The red lines however show the way out of the parking lot. Only one entrance will be used by the guests, rest all three entrances will be sealed and the park closed for the general public until the event is over with. This is a safety measure although the routes are different, but no chances have been left to luck or fate as they often cause confusion resulting in hazardous situations. Figure 3: showing route in and out of the parking lot Crowd Management As the crowd is mostly invite only, stampedes are out of question. Although a crowd of passer-byes trying to see the proceedings inside the park may cause a sizeable crowd. This has to be controlled even before it happens as it may cause a scene which gets out of hand. There must be a better understanding by all the authorities responsible for the event and the chain of command to be followed along with the nature of duties each person is responsible for. An important feature for this is the chalking out of an event plan produced by all the concerned agencies involved including exact names, location of personal, their duties, emergency plan lines of communication, entry and exit, name list of all the people invited and also those involved in the planning. Normal and emergency procedure related to crowd control should also be planned in advance so there is no confusion if any disorderly situation arises (CM, 2000) Terrorist Threat Post 9/11 no one can be sure of the method and weapon of a miscreants. Therefore terrorism is the biggest threat to any public gathering, let alone where important dignitaries are expected. Vigilance and correct measures before and throughout the event can only prevent any such mishap. The biggest threat due to the terrorist is does to the size of the venue and the area around the venue unsupervised. Many blind spots and places are present where an explosive device can be installed. Similarly the threat of a suicide bomber can also not be negated. For countering all these threats the help of local police is needed prior to the event as the venue will have to be cleared by the bomb squad and explosive sniffing dogs. Even after the initial search is done one rep of the Police has to be in the control room and all patrol cars dedicated for the event will have to be in touch with the control room person looking after the operation. All helping services like police, fire fighters, medical assistance have to be on high alert and in contact through wireless walkie-talkies with the control room. 100 meter from all sides of the place of the event inside the park will be cordoned off by the police and no person will be authorized to move in out without proper RFID signature cards issued for the event. VIP Movement Since this event is being organized by the state, the visit of the President, Prime Misnister and many other important VIPs is also expected. Therefore arrangements have to be made in pre-emptive condition so no last minute issues arrive. All security measures will be dealt in a categorical method, lightest being for a dignitary and highest for the president or a foreign delegate. Special team will be designated to coordinate with the personal security team of the VIP under discussion. Additional search by the bomb squad will be needed to scan the VIP sitting area for threats along with threat by projectile from far away buildings, like a sniper shot. The food to the VIP will also be kept under guard and checked before serving, the people responsible for serving will also be security cleared before the event. Conclusion This paper should be concluded by explaining one fact alone. The threats present are numerous in natures and not all the threats can be countered preemptively therefore strict vigilance and deployment of experience security workers, be it police, bureau or private contractors is strongly needed. A strong incident command center and properly laid out procedures for all possible emergencies should be chalked out; as when an incident occurs; confusion is the biggest threat to the management. Laid out procedure will make sure everybody knows what their job is. This kind of an event is often scrutinize as a measure of a countries integral security situation hence no loose meausers can be afforded and all possibilities have to be worked upon and checked out. References Crowd Management (2000) Report of the Task Force on Crowd Control and Safety, Chapter I - Crowd Management retrieved March 20, 2012, from http://www.crowdsafe.com/taskrpt/chpt1.html Google Maps (2012). Fatima Jinnah Park Map. Retrieved March 19, 2012, from http://g.co/maps/nn9rz Shuster, R. D. (2012). Security strategies for special events. Special Events. Retrieved March 20, 2012, from http://specialevents.com/mag/meetings_security_strategies_special/ Vendant systems (2012) safety meets security retrieved March 20, 2012, from http://vedantsystems.com/ Read More