Security Management for a Major Event

• NCJ Number: 174251
• Journal: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 67 Issue: 8 Dated: August 1998 Pages: 9-16
• Author(s): C W Sherwood
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using the security management procedures for the 9-day Special Olympics World Games in New Haven, Connecticut, as an example, this article discusses the planning process, organizational issues, resources, security operations center, communications, intelligence, and the security handbook for the security management of a major event.

Abstract

The planning process must include the development of a statement of objectives for security at the event. These objectives must not conflict with or obstruct the objectives of the event itself, so planning must be done in consultation with those event planners. This is best done through a security management committee. After identifying its objectives, the security management committee should list and analyze alternative ways of achieving them. Throughout the planning process, the security management committee must identify and assess factors that may help or hinder its objectives. Organization is the process of establishing orderly uses for all management resources. Security managers must foster coordination among the agencies involved in security to ensure that the activities of the independent departments are sufficiently integrated. Resource availability is another important security issue. Security managers should compare the number of officers available in the law enforcement agencies involved and assess how many officers they will need. The organization of the security operations center and determining its site and operating staff are some of the most significant decisions the security management committee makes at a multijurisdictional event. Communications is the cornerstone to coordinating a multijurisdictional operation, and intelligence operations must focus on the collection and analysis of all information related to potential threats to the safety of those participating in the event. A security handbook is necessary as a means of imparting the decisions and policies of the security management committee to those responsible for implementing them.