Major public venues—from stadiums and arenas to concert halls and convention centers—serve as opportune targets for terrorists and other malevolent individuals seeking to carry out acts of violence against innocent civilians. Over the past decade, attacks against these “soft targets” have been especially common, as they pair high visibility with relatively low site security sophistication.
Most recently, during the November 2015 attacks in Paris, three terrorists clad in explosive vests attempted to attack, among other targets, the Stade de France, the country’s national sports stadium, during a soccer match between the French and German national teams attended by both the French President and the German Foreign Minister. While the attackers were ultimately prevented from entering the stadium—their explosive vests were detonated outside the gates killing themselves and one individual—their actions underscored the dangers that major public venues face and the necessity of implementing effective security measures.
Given the proliferation of threats in today’s world, securing high profile venues and protecting attendees presents a complex, yet vital challenge. Today’s venue security requires proactive planning and tactics, multi-stakeholder coordination, robust training and exercises for safety and security personnel, and a constantly evolving mentality to counter new and future threats.
The Best Defense is a Good Offense
When it comes to securing major venues, adopting a proactive approach is critical. Unlike “reactive security,” which largely focuses on responding to incidents as they occur, “proactive security” leverages a variety of tactics and methodologies to deter, detect, and interdict potential threats before they have the opportunity to come to fruition.
Adopting a proactive approach to security allows personnel at major venues to take the offensive against potential threats, actively working to identify and investigate potential threats and suspicious activity, rather than relying on reactive security alone in a time of crisis. Proactive security should include both overt security assets—such as the use of magnetometers to screen personnel or the presence of uniformed law enforcement to deter potential threats—and covert security assets—such as countersurveillance, cameras, alarms, and intelligence gathering operations.
Ensuring a Team Effort
Large venues often rely on a diverse array of both public and private organizations to address safety and security needs. These stakeholders—which may include private security, fire/emergency medical services, state and local police, and numerous federal agencies—often offer a disparate set of approaches, functions, and areas of expertise. Much like a football team, though, each of these organizations must not only bring expertise in its individual “position,” but also understand how to function as part of a larger team. Indeed, much like how the offensive line and running backs play different roles and yet are expected to function in sync on game day, the various organizations must work to ensure proper coordination—so as to operate as a seamless unit in both preventing and responding to an incident.
In addition, non-safety and security personnel, such as vendors, should also receive security awareness training, and fans should be encouraged to report suspicious behaviors and activities. These personnel can act as a force multiplier, significantly increasing the number of eyes and ears actively monitoring for potential threats and suspicious activity. Since 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has promoted this idea through the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign, which has subsequently been adopted by the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA, and MLS.
The media can also play an important role in the security of major events and venues. Not only can the media help proactively disseminate information on security protocols prior to events—such as restrictions on items that may be brought into a venue or the commonly utilized “clear bag policy”—but also, should an incident or emergency occur, the media can serve as an important outlet for officials to communicate information to the public at large.
Practice Makes Perfect
Although the goal of a proactive security approach is to avoid incidents altogether, organizations must ensure they are fully prepared to respond to an array of potential threats. Having a clearly defined set of response plans and procedures that is communicated and understood among all stakeholders is therefore a vital piece of any venue security plan.
In addition, personnel should engage in an intensive training and exercise program, including both tabletop and full-scale exercises. Training and exercises give safety and security personnel the opportunity to understand and practice carrying out individual functions, identifying potential gaps, and executing a coordinated response in the face of a threat or incident.
Organizations and personnel responsible for safety and security at Super Bowl 50, for example, have been preparing security plans for more than two years and have already executed numerous drills and exercises.
The Challenges Ahead
As terrorists and other groups seeking to cause harm at major venues become more sophisticated, the challenges of venue security will only become more complex. Safety and security personnel must therefore be ready and able to counter the opponent’s innovative offense.
The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) among the civilian population provides an example of a new, non-traditional challenge to venue security. As these types of potential threats continue to evolve, it is vital that personnel proactively develop effective countermeasures necessary to keep major venues safe and secure while at the same time ensuring that security does not become the focus of the event.
