top of page

SABRE Risk | Crowd Safety Management

  • Writer: SABRE Risk
    SABRE Risk
  • 5 days ago
  • 2 min read
SABRE Risk
SABRE Risk

Too often, “crowd safety” gets confused with “crowd control.” Here’s what crowd safety management is NOT;


❌ Not “crowd control.” It is not about coercion or public-order tactics; that’s policing.


❌ Not just security/stewarding headcount. ''More bodies = safer'' without role clarity, training, comms, and supervision.


❌ Not equipment-only. Barriers, CCTV, PA systems, and HSE do not manage crowds by themselves.


❌ Not a paperwork exercise. A risk assessment, EMP, or license submission alone does not keep people safe if it isn’t operationalized and tested.


❌ Not a one-day activity. It is not limited to show day; it spans design, planning, build, live operations, and de-rig/egress.


❌ Not reactive emergency response. Waiting to “see and sort it” is incident management, not crowd safety management.


❌ Not headcount or ticket math. It is not just “capacity minus tickets sold”; density, flow rates, routes, and pinch points matter.


❌ Not confined to the venue. Approaches, transport hubs, queues, perimeter, and off-site dispersal are part of the system.


❌ Not “common sense” or experience alone. Decisions must be evidence-led (data, observation, modelling), not gut feeling.


❌ Not a set-and-forget plan. It is dynamic: monitor, forecast, intervene, and adapt to changing conditions.


❌ Not risk transfer. Insurance, indemnities, or outsourcing do not remove the duty holder’s responsibilities.


❌ Not purely health & safety compliance. Legal compliance is a baseline, not the objective; the aim is keeping people safe in motion.


❌ Not eliminating all risk. Zero-risk is impossible; the task is to reduce risks to tolerable levels with proportionate controls.


❌ Not optics or PR. High visibility vests and comms lines are useful, but appearance without capability is theatre.


❌ Not blame-the-crowd. Poor behaviour narratives do not replace fixing design, information, wayfinding, or flow failures.


In short; crowd safety management is not policing, kit, paperwork, or headcount, it is a proactive, system-wide, risk-led process that shapes environments and operations so people can move safely, comfortably, and predictably.





Contact SABRE Risk today to find out how we can support you, and your next event.


 
 
bottom of page