Showsec Steps Up Security For Festival Season

In 2009 director Mark Logan spearheaded the company’s involvement with festival organisers and emergency services to launch a crime reduction initiative at multiple events across the UK and has sat on industry panels focused on the subject this year. This strategy will be extended in 2010 as information sharing and new activities are being scheduled to target criminal activity.
 

Fellow director Simon Battersby was head of security at Hyde Park’s Hard Rock Calling and Wireless Festival in 2009 and this year he has also been appointed head of security at the expanded Download festival, where organisers have identified camp site security as one of the areas that will benefit from a new strategy of improved security management to counter ever changing criminal behaviour.
 

He said: “Numerous festival organisers understand the benefits of involving Showsec in a key role well in advance of their event. Long term relationships build trust, understanding with all interested parties and mean we can in assist with preparations including licensing applications, site and operational plans and staff training. For example at this year’s expanded Download we are examining all ingress/egress and crowd flow between stages or campsites. It is vital to engage us in the early planning stages of the festival.”  
 

Last summer, Showsec implemented successful security and crowd management operations at a range of festivals including Lowlands, Creamfields and Bestival. The company also opened a new office in Scotland, and its expansion there continues this year, supplying T in the Park, Rockness and Belladrum festivals. The Scottish office offers a new security alternative North of the border, with all the benefits and support from centralised HR, IT, booking and training resources, along with the experience of the company’s nine UK offices.
 

This experience is one of the reasons Showsec was recently awarded a new three year contract to supply Bloodstock Festival. The contract emphasises Showsec’s flexible service, which can be adapted to deliver results in any environment, and offer valuable support to an up and coming independent festival such as Bloodstock.
 

Finding ways to improve its service is at the core of Showsec’s ethos, which is underpinned by ongoing investment in training, infrastructure and a management team dedicated to evolving fresh strategies and implementing internal procedures that offer organisers continually improving services.
 

After three years on the scheme, the company has recently passed its review for membership on the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme with a record score of over 100 points. The company has also just completed the first phases of a significant management restructure. Managing director Mark Harding commented: “This restructure will result in a fresh focus and the delivery of enhanced service across all areas of the UK. Each team member brings a combination of experience and new skills, the benefits of which will pass directly on to the clients. This gives Showsec extended capacity for client liaison, from the crucial planning stages of a festival through to operational delivery.”
 

www.showsec.co.uk