Quick Security Guidelines for Parades, Rallies, and Festivals

May 11, 2016

Despite the cold weather, the warm-hearted people of Canada celebrate every moment of their lives in the form of concerts, parades, and festivals.
However, parades, rallies, and festivals can serve easy targets for attacks. The following guidelines can help you reduce the security risks in public areas.
Indicators of Terrorist Activity

The common instances of terrorist activity include gunfire, explosive materials, small arms attack, kidnapping, assassination, and use of chemical, radiological or biological agents.
Potential terrorist activity in a public rally, parade or festival may be identified through the following indicators.
People wearing unusually bulky clothing
Bulky clothing includes cargo pants, heavy jackets, hoodies, and backpacks. These are helpful in hiding explosives and arms. Jackets and baggy pants also aid in concealing the weapons.

People trying to enter illegally
Most parades, rallies and festivals are customized to a specific theme. Generally, the authorities assign identity cards or identity codes to the attendees in order to reduce the security risk. Whether it is one person or a group of people trying to get illegal entry to the parade or rally, it is necessary that the responsible authorities temporarily arrest them for a security check.

Vehicles Parked Illegally
It is the responsibility of the authorities and of the attendees as well to take note of any such unattended vehicles.

Vulnerable Areas
Public rallies and festivals are organized at open public areas. Therefore, the number of vulnerable areas is also greater than at other locations. Common vulnerability keys include these.
• Temporary structures like gates and windows
• Unrestricted access or entry points
• Unattended peripheral areas like parking area
• Activity points
• Limited security forces
• Lack of planning
• Multiple entrance points
• Display of armor or lethal items

Preventive Measures
Restrict Access
You can restrict access using the following tips.
• Restrict the entrance to one or two points only.
• Put signs of Non-Public Area or Restricted Area.
• Conduct background check and assign identity cards or identity codes to all attendees.

Monitoring and Surveillance
Many volunteers participate in public rallies and parades. Therefore, you need two types of monitoring and surveillance strategies.

• Monitoring Before the Event
Make sure to keep a check on all the employees and volunteers, and keep a record of their contact numbers and addresses. It is better to hire volunteers based on references only. Keep a check on your employees and make sure to take action against changing behaviors or any suspicious activities.

• Monitoring During the Event
Install security gates on the entrance points. Install CCTV Cameras and provide portable alarms to the trustworthy volunteers.

Provide Security
Hire enough security personnel or hire a security service provider like SSI Protection to have foolproof security during the event. Organizing an event like a rally or a parade is a huge responsibility. Security firms like SSI Protection also help prepare a plan along with providing trained security personnel.