[Type text] [Type text] [Type text] Security Issues and Concerns for Event Organizers: Current Safety and Security Trends in Event Security Recap of an Educational Session on Meeting Safety and Security Held at CIC s 2016 CMP Conclave on September 17, 2016 in Baltimore, MD Event Recap September 17, 2016 Speakers Jonathan Wackrow is Executive Director at RANE (Risk Assistance Network + Exchange). A top performing security professional with 16 + years of high level management and operational planning experience, he has spent the majority of his career in the United States Secret Service, serving as criminal investigator in New York City and serving on the Presidential Protection Division. Clarence Izzard is Senior Manager, Corporate Safety & Security, at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. He has spent 26 years of his career in the hospitality industry, serving as a subject matter expert, trainer, and consultant in the safety & security arena. Prior to his hospitality career, he served as a Police Officer and Fireman. Do you have a comprehensive plan on how to protect against or handle active shooters or bomb threats if they were to target your event? At the 2016 Convention Industry Council s CMP Conclave, former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow and experienced hotel security executive Clarence Izzard discussed current issues in event security to help event planners better prepare and safeguard their own meetings and conferences. A potential human threat needs means, opportunity, and intent to cause harm to be a real threat. That s not for you to decide treat every threat as a critical threat that needs to be addressed. Jonathan Wackrow The Threats Threats sometimes can t be stopped, said Jonathan Wackrow, and they can be difficult to even forecast. But we can collectively reduce vulnerabilities. There is a wide array of potential threats, ranging from terrorism to political unrest to natural disasters, and any of them can affect an event. The Marriott in Istanbul had three meetings going on when the [attempted] coup happened in Turkey, Wackrow pointed out. Some threats, such as natural disasters, are very difficult to predict. Other disruptions, such as protests, can often be anticipated and prepared for. Clarence Izzard notes that many events are soft targets, defined as an individual, organization, facility, or place that is relatively unprotected. This status makes them particularly vulnerable to active shooters. Event organizers should not forget to include cyber considerations in their security planning. There s no silver bullet to secure yourself in a cyber world, said Wackrow. He advised planners to reduce their risk and the risk to attendees by limiting the amount of information they collect from guests. Having your name
stolen isn t a big deal, he explained, but if it s attached to your date of birth, social security number, and mother s maiden name, it s a problem. A potential human threat needs means, opportunity, and intent to cause harm to be a real threat, said Wackrow. That s not for you to decide treat every threat as a critical threat that needs to be addressed. If a threat comes in from social media, law enforcement needs to be notified and they ll determine if it s a credible threat. Active Shooters Once an active shooter situation happens, you have one goal: Stay alive, said Izzard. Know where you are, and know where you need to go. He added, In the first 15 minutes of any attack, you re going to be on your own. Law enforcement will not have arrived yet. And when they arrive, their priority will be to neutralize the attacker, not to save lives. The most important words in case of an active shooter are situation awareness, said Izzard. No matter where you go, be conscious of where you are and how to get out of that situation alive in an emergency. Dynamic events are soft targets, and they can change drastically and quickly. Chaos causes panic, because most people haven t been trained and don t know what to do in such a situation. Your organization, though, should have a plan and be doing tabletop drills at least twice a year, advised Izzard. He added, No two shooter situations unfold the same way, so your plan needs to be flexible. Izzard gave a number of recommendations for hotels experiencing a security threat such as an active shooter: The hotel should go into complete lockdown mode including garages, service entrances, talent entrances, and so on immediately upon hearing about an active shooter. Outdoor venues and any large areas where guests gather should be cleared as quickly as possible. They re exposed and often have limited exits. Izzard noted that hotels often don t have the same security standards as other soft target venues, such as sports arenas. It can be expensive, he explained, but we also don t want our hotels looking like a fort. We want guests to come and go freely. Blackout curtains should be used and remain in place for at least the first 24 hours to limit visibility from the street. Marquees, reader boards, and other easy sources of property information should be shut down. Attackers are looking for targets of opportunity, and information boards advertise them. Social media will likely make guests aware of an incident virtually immediately, said Izzard. Management will need to act quickly, and should have a plan prepared in advance. Staff should be trained to run, hide, or fight to leave the area if possible, find a safe place if it s not, and as a last resort, fight back against an attacker. Planning for Hotels Meeting planners will look at a menu one hundred times, and obsess over a room diagram, but how much thought will they put into security? asked Wackrow. As a planner, from the moment a site is selected for an event, you need to start thinking
about security, he advised. Build it into your workflow. Izzard noted that hotels often don t have the same security standards as other soft target venues, such as sports arenas. It can be expensive, he explained, but we also don t want our hotels looking like a fort. We want guests to come and go freely. Wackrow added that sports venues don t have the luxury of knowing who exactly is holding a ticket. A person planning a meeting at a hotel, however, knows who is invited and what market segment he or she is trying to hit. Before the Event Izzard advised that event planners check with the venue s security organization when planning for security. They probably already have one for you, he said. If they don t, OSHA also has a basic template. Develop intelligence about the locality of your event and understand the risks that intersect with it, said Wackrow. If you re doing a meeting in Minneapolis at the end of February, you need to include weather in your planning. That means travel disruption, lack of attendees, and so on. He added, The more proactive you can be in your planning, the less reactive you will have to be later. Wackrow noted that a physical site visit is vital. Planners should tour the venue, ideally with representatives of the venue s security organization, and determine what resources are available to take advantage of. Planners should also use this visit to evaluate how access will be controlled. If you have open doors in the back, anyone can walk in to your high-level board meeting, he said. Wackrow recommended that planners consider how crowds will be managed. Will there be an outside event with a different crowd that needs to be segregated? How will attendees be credentialed? How will they be transported from one location to another? Does an outside guard company need to be hired to help with the event? The last point should be discussed with all stakeholders in advance; some may not want an overwhelming security presence. If the only way you re going to communicate is digital messaging, you re going to be siloed. But you want to have redundancy. There s nothing stopping you from putting up written signs at natural gathering points like the registration area. Jonathan Wackrow In addition to planning for medical emergencies, Wackrow said that planners should be able to supply attendees with information about fulfilling basic medical needs. They need to know where to find the nearest hospital and where prescriptions can be filled or other medication purchased at all hours. Coordinating Security Planners should coordinate with all security stakeholders: venue security, local law enforcement, and any contracted private security organization. You need to literally get together and discuss what the needs and plans are, said Izzard. The role of each security stakeholder must be planned and communicated. The venue s security organization will likely have its own security plan. It won t be a very detailed plan, but it will have critical information, said Izzard. They will partner with you and give you what you need to be comfortable. In the event that the venue s security will not share their plan, it is likely because they are under the impression they are giving away sensitive information and should be educated otherwise, by a third party consultant if necessary. In a lot of districts, said Wackrow, tourism is key, and local law enforcement will
be willing to assist with large-scale events. Planners should understand what the city will provide in terms of emergency services such as a police presence and a fire marshal. Wackrow added that there are some things that private security contractors can do that law enforcement cannot, such as removing protesters from a public location. However, planners need to understand that they bear the liability for anything their hired security contractors do. The Day of the Event Wackrow said that everything that is planned in advance needs to be run through again on the day of the event: access control, crowd control, transportation, surveillance, medical, and so on. Organizers should implement and execute the protocols they planned, inspect the venue again, and designate sensitive areas and delineate access, egress, and travel paths. Important information about the venue s layout, particularly number and location of exits, needs to be noted and shared, according to Izzard. Both organizers and guests should already know where to go in the case of an emergency. Izzard recommended establishing a physical command post where organizers can gather, appraise the situation, and issue orders. In the event of a communication failure, Wackrow noted the value of nonverbal communication. If the only way you re going to communicate is digital messaging, you re going to be siloed, he said. But you want to have redundancy. There s nothing stopping you from putting up written signs at natural gathering points like the registration area. Once an active shooter situation happens, you have one goal: Stay alive. Know where you are, and know where you need to go. Clarence Izzard VIP Protection In the event that a high profile VIP is attending an event, Wackrow advises that security considerations will change drastically. The moment you think your organization is going to invite a high-profile attendee, you need to start thinking about flexibility, said. Your schedule is going to change, and it s going to be based around the VIP s schedule. In the case of a high level VIP such as the President or Vice President of the United States, the VIP s security detail will likely take over the entirety of the event s security planning. Wackrow recommended that planners select one individual to be the contact point for the VIP s staff to ensure efficient coordination and that the needs of both the planner and the VIP are met. ABOUT THE CONVENTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL The Convention Industry Council (CIC) champions the economic and social value of the meetings and event profession. Our purpose is to promote a strong meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry. A resource for excellent standards and practices within the industry with more than 33 member organizations representing over 103,500 individuals and 19,500 firms and properties, we accomplish this by connecting people, forming strong global partnerships, promoting excellence through certification and accreditation programs and voluntary standards and best practices, and fostering
collaboration on industry issues and actively supporting and disseminating them. ABOUT RANE RANE is an information services and advisory company serving the market for global enterprise risk management. We provide access to, collaboration with, and unique insights from the largest global network of credentialed risk experts covering over 200 categories of risk. Through our collective insight, we help enterprises anticipate emerging threats and manage today s most complex risks.