October 2004
Cheat Sheet: Security

Tips and tricks for assessing and meeting your show’s security needs

By Linda C. Chandler

Assess your exposure
Not every show’s security needs are the same. A high-exposure show may need to spend more on security, hire more off-duty police staff, or have a tighter security presence during off hours. A lower risk show offers fewer demands on security staff and may be able to spend less.

High 
  High-profile events/large attendance
  Celebrity participants/speakers
  Potential political protesters
  Unlimited access venue
  Exhibits with prototypes or expensive small wares such as jewelry
  History of labor disputes at site
Low 
  Ticketed or membership exhibitions
  Limited egress to and from a single hall
  Low profile/publicity
  No controversial issues
  Safer audience profile (librarians vs. punk/rap fans)
  Fewer attendees

Evaluating security companies
What you should ask security companies you’re considering:
• Are they state licensed, bonded and insured?
• Do they have certified guards and do they perform background checks?
• Will they provide experienced managers on site?
• Are they familiar wit h the venue?
• Do they have trade show experience?
• Do they have good communications with local authorities?
• Do they have a good record with the Better Business Bureau and local CVB?
• Can they offer references from similar size shows at the same facility?
• Do employees have training in confrontation and dealing with aggressive people, and can they offer such training to your staff?
• Are they multilingual, if appropriate for participants?
• Will they work with flexible coverage hours and specified rates?

Security rules of thumb
• Post guards at all entrances, including house access corridors.
• Loading dock coverage is important, especially during installation and dismantling times.
• The more people in attendance and the more entrances, the more coverage needed.
• Uniformed off-duty police officers create a reassuring presence and are necessary for street traffic duty.
• Have undercover floor-walkers dressed and badged as participants.
• Assign additional security near cyber cafes, bookstores, registration areas or any other places money is exchanged or expensive equipment is housed.
• Personnel need to be in place after hours to maintain a secure floor and house access.
• Work with the venue and general service contractor to ensure security systems for marshalling yards, trucks, freight and parcel shipments.
• The show manager cannot control everything. You can specify by contract that perimeters are the responsibility of the venue, exhibitors are responsible for their own possessions and celebrities are responsible for their own security, or negotiate these aspects of your security plan.

Limiting access
Show organizers’ prime security concern is unauthorized access, whether it represents lost ticket revenue, corporate espionage, theft or potential terrorism. In addition to badges, more show managers are using colored wrist or arm bands. Security companies and show personnel are often charged with distribution of bands of a different color each day. No janitor, caterer, electrician, exhibitor or anyone else claiming to be affiliated with or working on the show is admitted without the band.

Training show staff
Ask your security company if it will help train your staff and if it would be willing to go over security issues at your daily morning meetings on site. The company should be able to help your staff with:
• Being aware of banding access systems
• Recognizing counterfeit badges or press credentials
• Being able to recognize suspicious behavior
• Knowing how to report any suspicious actions or individuals
• Refraining from confronting someone without security personnel present
• Using radios efficiently and knowing codes for assistance
• Being familiar with emergency access routes and crisis plans

Security costs
Rates vary widely from city to city. An unarmed guard in Atlanta runs $18 an hour, but in Anaheim, CA, it’s $20 an hour. Here’s a sampling of what security guards might cost in Las Vegas:
Unarmed guard - $13.50 per hour
Armed guard - $15-$20 per hour
Retired police officer - $25-$30 per hour
Executive level protection (retired FBI agent, Navy Seal) - $35-$50 per hour

Saving money
Ensure cost-savings by not requiring higher-end security personnel to perform lesser functions. A noncommissioned officer in a jacket with security identification but without weapons can create a “soft” presence for such things as credentials checking. Highly visible, weapon-bearing personnel may be needed only in exceptional cases to guard valuables or VIPs or to control crowds. At the same time, non-weapons carrying security guards could save your show money by being trained to look out for other hazards such as spills, or exposed cords. This could help reduce insurance claims.

More from EXPO and IAEM
IAEM Resources
• Go to www.iaem.org. Click “Industry Information,” then “Center for Exhibition Safety and Security” to find security manual information, a model crisis management plan with multiple scenarios, Internet links, quarterly newsletters from the Exhibition Security Task Force and more.

EXPO Articles
• “Securing the Perimeter,” October 2003, http://www.expoweb.com/Operations/Oct_2003_BP_Securing_the_perimeter12.htm
• Keeping shows safe, January 2003, http://expoweb.com/Operations/feature290.htm
• Stop Thief, June 1995, http://expoweb.com/Show_Management_101/0695_security.htm

Sources
Leslie Bruno, Pro-Tect Security, www.pro-tectsecurity.com, (702) 735-0110
Randy Caperton, Pro-Tect Security, www.pro-tectsecurity.com, (702) 735-0110
Peter R. Eelman, Association for Manufacturing Technology, www.mfgtech.org, (800) 828-7469
Kevin Mellott, Erase Enterprises, www.erase.com, (800) 372-7330
Greg Ramirez, The Security Management Group of America, www.smgamerica.com, (773) 254-1824