Event planning guide

As the Organiser you are responsible for matters of public order and in appropriate behaviour on your site. You also need to keep records of any incidents that occur and who was involved as this information may be required by the Emergency Services or Council Officials. To help you carry out your legal responsibility it is usual for organisers to employ event/crowd management stewards, and or security contractors depending on what activities you have on your site and the numbers you expect to attend.

Any person employed at the event to control admissions, keep order, supervise a bar, remove people causing disorder, or searching premises or people must be licensed by Security Industry Authority (SIA).

At Stockton we expect stewards engaged either directly, or indirectly, for duties associated with the event should preferably be trained to an acceptable standard in crowd safety management, they should also be:

• Be physically able to carry out the work.
• Not be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
• Remain at their point of allocated duty (except in pursuit of public safety)
• Remain calm.
• Be courteous towards all those with who they have contact.
• Co-operate in full with any legal requirements of the Emergency Services or Council Officials.

It is the event organiser who must ensure stewards are fully briefed about their specific areas of responsibility and if possible provide them with a briefing note - which should include (where applicable):

• Roles and responsibilities
• Staff command and control structure
• Safety requirements
• Communication methods
• Partial and Total Evacuation Plan
• Action to take in the event of fire or explosion
• How to respond to bomb threats and suspicious packages
• How to deal with disruptive traders, performers or the public
• Management of distressed/lost vulnerable persons
• Onsite and off-site traffic management
• Assessment of crowd densities, problematic dynamics and signs of distress.
• Resolving access/parking issues.
• The Location of key areas on site such as: event control; exits; evacuation routes and assembly areas; firefighting equipment; first aid points; disabled viewing/access; car and coach parking locations; drop off and pick up points for car, coach, taxi, participant equipment; lost/found property point; lost/found person point; meeting points; toilet facilities; information point; welfare services; emergency liaison centre.

The organiser should require all staff working at the event to wear clothing that clearly identifies them and their role eg T - shirt or jacket with the word Steward. They also must have personal protective clothing (eg hats, boots, gloves, coats) to deal with the possible range of weather conditions they will be working in (eg sun, rain, hail, snow). At events lasting several hours, duty rotas will be required, with time allowed for refreshment breaks. For evening events, torches may also be required.