From the moment your association organizes an event, you must ensure the safety of all participants. To secure your event, it is thus advisable to pay particular attention to several essential points.
From the legal obligations in terms of event security under the plan to the control of tickets and the subscription to an insurance policy, no detail should be neglected. It is also important to involve certain actors in the field of security. Here are some details.
Security for your associative event: the standards to respect
Whatever the nature of the event, as an organizer, your association is responsible for the safety of the participants. This aspect must even be one of your priorities. Moreover, within the framework of the plan, various legal obligations must be respected.
As a reminder, two of the 13 areas of action of this plan particularly concern associative events. These are: gatherings, facilities, and buildings.
Coming back to the standards you must comply with, the implementation of the plan requires the adoption of certain security measures:
- Establish your own security service (order service, surveillance system…) ;
- Limit the number of accesses for optimal surveillance of the premises;
- Control the flow of people and filter entry (visual inspection, search of large bags, luggage, body parts, etc.);
- Protect the queues;
- Checking the presence of emergency exits and their conformity;
- Guarantee the security of the external accesses of the event site against any possible attack of a ram-vehicle by installing blocks, mobile harrows, concrete blocks, etc. ;
- Ensure the cleanliness and transparency of the common areas and technical areas of the site. This is to avoid the possibility of abandoning and hiding dangerous packages.
You have chosen an establishment open to the public to hold your association event? Then you must comply with the legal provisions: hygiene and surveillance rules, the capacity of reception. On the other hand, if the event takes place outside (in the open air), it is advisable to delimit the place by an enclosure. Of course, it is also important to comply with basic safety rules (electrical installations, fire prevention).
Be careful! Searches require the consent of the persons being searched. Moreover, in the case of a body search, only persons authorized and approved by the prefect are allowed to do so. In addition, they must always be of the same sex as the persons being searched.
The importance of ticket control
Whatever the location of your event, the security of your event also implies the control of the tickets. In fact, this allows you to avoid fraud and to guarantee totally secure access to your event. This can be included in the measures of the plan to simplify and reinforce the control of flows and access.
In order to facilitate access to the event and to prevent crowd movements, it is interesting to opt for an online ticketing system. Moreover, traditional tickets are increasingly being replaced by dematerialized tickets. The latter is more practical and offer undeniable advantages:
- Adapted to any type of associative event (fair, concert, live show, tournament), no matter its size
- In accordance with current regulations
- Secure transaction
- Fewer documents to keep
- Possibility to establish quotas
- Follow in real-time the number of people present at the event…
In short, the use of a computerized ticketing system facilitates the work of your teams in the field, especially in terms of security.
Taking out insurance: one of the bases of event security
Far from being superfluous, subscribing to insurance is one of the requirements to respect in terms of event security. Nevertheless, it is not a question of choosing just any insurance. And for good reason, choosing an insurance policy to cover your association event is not a step to be taken lightly. It requires time and reflection.
It is then essential to choose the one that best suits the event organized by your association. In this perspective, you must take into account the characteristics of your project. Type of event, number of participants (public, speakers, volunteers…), location…, every little detail is important and can change the deal.
And if the chosen insurance is insufficient, do not hesitate to take additional guarantees. Indeed, you are not totally safe from unforeseen events and bad surprises. Moreover, several aspects must be considered for the coverage of your event:
- The human dimension
- The material dimension
In fact, as the person in charge, you must do everything possible to limit the risks as much as possible.
The actors to solicit to ensure the security of your associative event
In order for the event orchestrated by your association to run smoothly (or almost), it is wise to call upon certain actors. Thus, apart from the organization team, other teams are also needed to ensure the security of the event.
This is the case of the security team. In application of the plan, the security team will ensure the smooth running of the event:
- Preventing any overflow (public order service), managing conflicts and especially defusing them beforehand (mediation)
- Monitor and control access and the flow of people
There are two options for the implementation of this security system. You can either call on the services of professionals in the field, or you can entrust this task to volunteers. In the latter case, give preference to volunteers who are experienced or trained in this type of intervention.
On the other hand, if your event gathers more than 1,500 people, the presence of an emergency team is mandatory. In concrete terms, this means setting up a preventive rescue system (DPS) with a first aid station.
It is therefore advisable to entrust this post to an approved civil security association such as the local Red Cross branch. For small events, you can also plan a rescue team made up of volunteers who have undergone first aid training.
