October 1991 EFFECTIVE CROWD CONTROL By Steven J. Schmidt Lieutenant Colonel Assistant Chief of Police Covington, Kentucky, Police Department While small to midsized departments may be located in areas where the problem of crowd control is virtually nonexistent, there could be times when they have to police large groups of people during special local events. There are also times when smaller cities that border large municipalities must deal with the overflow of people attending an event in that municipality. For example, Covington, Kentucky, currently has 91 sworn officers to police a population of 50,000. But, because Covington is separated from Cincinnati, Ohio, by only the Ohio River, the Covington Police Department must prepare for overflow crowds that are generated by special events held in Cincinnati. And, because police managers must regard even peaceful crowds as having riot potential, planning is critical to effective crowd control. (1) This article discusses exactly what areas of concern should be addressed when planning for crowd control and how police managers should approach the task. PLANNING FOR CROWD CONTROL A step-by-step plan is important to effective crowd control. In order to ensure a well-policed event, police managers should prepare ahead of time for any conceivable problems. Personnel To plan for effective crowd control, police managers should consider what personnel resources are available. For example, a traffic division with officers who are experienced in traffic flow is invaluable. Also invaluable when planning for crowd control is a police auxiliary, which could help in areas where sworn officers are not needed. In extreme cases, the National Guard can be used as additional resources. Other personnel resources to draw from include officers from neighboring police departments, the fire department, the public works department, the Red Cross, and citizen band radio clubs. Private businesses, such as bus companies, are also sometimes willing to lend equipment to assist in crowd control. Buses make effective barricades to block intersections. Advance Notification Another important task when planning for a special event is to notify businesses and residents in the affected area of how much disruption they can expect. Ground rules should be discussed ahead of time so that there are no misunderstandings during the event. Also, if public transportation is expected to be disrupted, alternate routes should be designated prior to the event, and fire and ambulance personnel should be contacted to determine checkpoints for rapid access routes. Traffic Control Traffic control is important to policing any major event. "No parking" areas should be designated and posted before the event. Officials should advertise these restrictions through the media and through flyers sent to residents and businesses in the affected areas. Officials should also contract with a wrecker service to tow vehicles parked in restricted areas. Because special events often place unusual demands on wrecker services, they should be given advance notice of what to expect. It is also important to choose an impoundment location and agree on the release procedure. Command Posts Command posts are an integral part of any special events operation. Department personnel should determine how much space they need for the post, the amount of parking space available in the areas being considered, and whether the locations have land lines for communication purposes. Officials should also make provisions for a remote dispatch location. If officers have more than one channel on their radios, this could be as simple as switching to a secondary channel for the event and using a portable radio with a charger. If an event lasts more than 8 hours, food, coffee, and soft drinks should be available in the command post for officers who work the detail. Police managers should also make arrangements to clean the post after use, especially if the space was loaned to the department by a local business. Assignments All officers who work the event should receive clear, written instructions about the assignment. For example, a map of the event area should be prepared, showing its parameters, with all checkpoints clearly marked. If a specific checkpoint is one of "no-access under any circumstance," the officer assigned to that checkpoint should be aware of that stipulation ahead of time. Officials should also prepare a contingency personnel plan in the event officers who are assigned to work the event call in sick. And, there should be additional flexibility in the assignments in order to cover holes in the perimeters that even the most careful planner may overlook. Also a consideration when planning for personnel is whether a meal break will be necessary for the officers. Although extra teams are sometimes required to relieve officers, if enough officers are assigned to the teams, half the team can be relieved at a time. Equipment Extra equipment should always be available during large events. Police managers should ensure that extra radios, flashlights, batteries, and handcuffs are stored at the command post. When planning for extra equipment, police managers should also consider whether there will be special transportation needs. All-terrain vehicles (ATV) and golf carts that local businesses may loan to the department could prove invaluable. Officers can use ATVs to check unpaved areas and police managers can use golf carts to get to checkpoints if the size of the crowd does not permit using an automobile. Special Considerations Officials should make every effort to keep large events free of alcohol. If this is impossible, either through legal means or simple reasoning, managers should document problems arising from the use of alcohol to argue for alcohol-free events in the future. If officials are successful in banning alcohol consumption during the event, it is important to publicize this fact. All coolers taken into the event area should be checked for alcohol, and dumpsters should be available at the perimeters to dispose of any confiscated liquor. The Perimeter Police managers should decide ahead of time what the perimeter of the event site will be and then publicize this perimeter. Officials should bear in mind that if the perimeter is too large, it will be difficult to control the crowd, and the officers would have too large an area to police. The perimeter should be checked thoroughly for any gaps that would allow lapses in security. Specific areas should be blocked, including intersections and checkpoints. It may also be prudent to block off parking lots inside the perimeter. If a large amount of pedestrian traffic is expected following the event, the mixture of automobiles and pedestrians could prove dangerous. Controlling the parking lots allows the bulk of the pedestrian traffic to leave the perimeter first. Cars can then leave in stages, minimizing the likelihood of either a pedestrian/automobile accident or total gridlock. THE EVENT Before Except for the officers who need to start their shift earlier in order to remove cars parked in restricted areas or to block off critical areas, officers working the detail should assemble about 1 hour before the event. During this time, police managers can hold a final briefing with the supervisors and discuss any necessary changes. They can also ensure that all officers are using the correct radio channel and give directions for ending the detail. Just prior to the start of the event, officers should again check the restricted area for possible problems. It is much easier to resolve problems before the crowds begin to arrive than to deal with both problems and crowds. During The majority of the officers should position themselves at the perimeter of the event. By keeping the majority of the officers where the spectators pass, the perceived numbers advantage remains with the police. It also makes it easier for police managers to know the location of their officers. And, although most of the officers involved in controlling the crowd will be on foot, mobile units should also be available to respond to critical incidents that occur within or around the perimeter. The number of officers working together in a group will vary with the situation, but no officers should work alone. Also, if possible, officers from a plainclothes unit should mingle with the crowd. Not only can plainclothes officers spot violations more easily than uniformed officers, but they also can make quick arrests that minimize any disruptions to the crowd. Any person arrested during the event should be quickly removed from the crowd and transported away from the area by officers who are specifically assigned this duty. This minimizes the loss of personnel who are working the actual event. When the event ends, stragglers sometimes remain. To counter this problem, floodlights that can be borrowed from the local fire department should be concentrated on the areas in which spectators are likely to congregate. This serves as a signal that it is time to leave. Officers should also scan the area for any remaining spectators as they leave their posts to return to the command post. After The hours following the end of an event are busy for patrol officers. If possible, officials should schedule additional patrol units to work until things return to normal. Because no major event can be kept completely alcohol and drug free, patrol units may have to deal with fights, injuries, and accidents that occur among the spectators. (2) All officers should report to the command post before going off duty. This allows officials to record overtime and check the records for accuracy, as well as recover any equipment that has been loaned out. Police managers should keep detailed records of the planning stages, and they should compile a list of recommended changes for policing the next event. They should also write formal letters of appreciation to any person outside the department who donated equipment or assisted in some other manner. CONCLUSION Policing an event that generates large crowds is a major undertaking that requires extensive planning. Police managers must follow a step-by-step plan that ensures that the crowd is controlled with the fewest number of problems possible. A well-developed, well-executed plan results in events that are safe to police officers, visitors, and the community. FOOTNOTES (1) Richard A. Berk, "Collective Behavior" (Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown Co., 1974). (2) Adrian F. Aveni, "The Not-So-Lonely Crowd: Friendship Groups in Collective Behavior," Sociometry, vol. 40, No. 1, January 1977, pp. 96-99.