Crime reduction measures have been hailed after the 2014 Download Festival, and the event security contractor Showsec points to its link-up with Leicestershire Police as a key factor.
When Aerosmith closed the three-day event for 50,000 rock fans, organisers were reporting a 70 per cent reduction in crime-related incidents across both the arena itself and all the campsites at Donington Park. Crucial Showsec reports was its introduction of a specific Crime Reduction Strategy for the first time at the festival which resulted in them working closely with the police throughout.
Detective Constable Kevin Walker, one of Leicestershire Police’s intelligence officers, said: “This is definitely the future at these events. The fact that we are now working so closely together has certainly had a positive effect on what had been achieved at Download. By doing this, we have built a better understanding of how each other operates and we have been able to share a lot of vital information.”
He added: “Having representatives from Showsec in our briefings twice a day was just one aspect of how working together underpinned the success of the whole operation and made the event so much safer for everyone who was attending.”
Martin Lewis, Showsec’s Area Manager for Wales and the South West, was the Crime Reduction Manager for Download 2014. Although the festival has a reputation for relatively low rates of crime when compared to other music events of this type, the objective was to enhance the customer experience by creating a safer, more enjoyable environment.
There were a number of strands to the Crime Reduction Strategy, most notably the use of jotforms to gather vital information from the workforce, the presence of information hubs in each of the campsites for people to report any suspicious activity and the deployment of regular patrols as a more visible presence.
Lewis said: “This is the first time there has been a co-ordinated approach to tackling specific aspects of crime and it has certainly made a massive difference that we have been able to work so closely with Leicestershire Police. We have 1,000 pairs of eyes around the site at any one time, whereas the Police have maybe only 100 pairs of eyes on duty, so we can cover so much more through this link-up and therefore act on anything suspicious much quicker. The aim is to create an environment in which people have more confidence and trust to approach staff and report anything they see.”
He added: “The speed at which we get information is crucial in terms of response and that is where the jotforms have helped significantly. Staff can quickly forward details from their phones. For instance, it may be a report about someone acting suspiciously in green campsite and then when another member of staff files a similar report, that becomes intelligence. The sharing of key information has been important for both ourselves and the Police in terms of combatting any criminal activity.
“We know how an incident of crime can impact upon a person’s whole enjoyment of the event, and even their life in extreme cases, so it is important that we do all we can to prevent this, which is why this unified approach is a big step forward.” Pictured are Martin Lewis and DC Kevin Walker.
Visit Showsec.co.uk.
