The contract event security company Show and Event Security gained CSAS (Community Safety Accreditation Scheme) with Essex Police in August 2013.
Briefly, the Police Reform Act 2002 lets a police force chief accredit organisations that provide community safety and security. Usually guard forces for housing associations or councils or universities, or contact guard firms, apply for accreditation, so that their employees can use set policing powers – such as, the power to confiscate alcohol from the under-age; or to enforce railway bylaws.
To become accredited in a police force area, the organisation concerned is vetted to a national standard set by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Secondly, the employees to be accredited have to go through vetting and training.
Among London-based Show and Event Security’s recent work has been securing the Isle of Wight Festival 2013. The company deployed close to 600 staff. SES assisted in the management of the most important areas such as the Arena floors, Strawberry Fields and Bohemian Woods besides providing backstage staff who worked on vehicle movement and aiding artists on arrival to assist the promotion company, Solo UK.
SES work ranged from the pit barriers to helping queue control in concession areas.
SES already had experience with most of the acts such as The Stone Roses, The Killers and Bon Jovi. For instance The Killers did their biggest show to date at Wembley, filled with over 45,000 fans. SES staff were deployed to secure the backstage area and ‘front of house’ pits.
And as for Bon Jovi’s ‘Because We Can’ UK tour, Show and Event Midlands took the lead at the Aston Villa show in Birmingham, with numerous staff from the Birmingham and Peterborough offices attending and assisting with areas such as backstage, front of house and ticket gates. SES also secured Cardiff and Stadium of Light, Sunderland shows for the promoter AEG Live.
