Charles T. Thibodeau & Associates
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Crowd Control Concepts:
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CROWD
CONTROL CONCEPTS
SYLLABUS
CTTA1500
Three Hours of Continuing Training
AUTHOR:
Charles T. Thibodeau, M.Ed., CPP, CSS, CPO
EDITORS:
Barry Swanson, LPS, Public Law Enforcement Trainer
COURSE RATIONALE
If we were to distill the pure essences of safety and security, and reduce it to it’s lowest common denominator, we would find the word “control.” Control is at the very center of the purpose of the safety and security effort. At the end of the day, it is the amount of control we were able to muster and maintain that made the difference between a successful day and a failure. The safety and security effort can be summarized as the establishment and maintaining of a stable, relatively predictable work environment resulting from the application of proactive preventive strategies designed for obtaining maximum control. Although during our workday the issues that require our attention and control may have to do with severe weather or mechanical failures, the majority of our work will involve managing people. When large numbers of people are expected to be present, the management necessities multiply and greater effort is required of the security contingent. Thus, crowd control is central to the safety and security effort when large numbers of people gather for any reason. This fact alone makes the topic of crowd control a necessary topic for training of security practitioners.
COURSE FOCUS
The focus of this course is upon the seriousness of potentially volatile situations and establishing control of those situations before they become critical issues. It is intended to address procedures the security officer can follow to balance public relations and customer service with safety and security control of the very people the officer is serving. Thus, topics in this course were carefully chosen that will address the application of tactics that will serve the needs of both the public and the client company the officer is working for. It will also guide the student on how to perform their duties within the restrictions of civil law, criminal law, administrative law, policy, procedures and ethics.
METHODOLOGIES
This course will be taught by utilization of an appropriate selection of the following tools, tailored specifically to facilitate the delivery of the subject matter being taught:
Lectures, Demonstrations, Illustrations, Class Discussions, Readings, Tutorial Exams, Videotape, Audio Tape, Computer Projection, Transparency Projection, and Interactive Computer Programs.
COURSE CONTENT GOALS
The students will be exposed to the following list of topics that will be addressed in above described seminars:
I. Definitions
A. Crowd
B. Control
C. Special Events
D. Exhibitions and Seminars
E. Demonstrations
F. Riots
G. Disaster
H. Use of Force
I. Reading the Mood of the Crowd
II. The Five Types of Crowds:
A. Acquisitive
B. Spectator
C. Expressive
D. Hostile
E. Escape
II. General Causes of Crowd Formations
A. Basic Cause
B. Casual Cause
C. Emotional Cause
III. Psychological Causes for Crowd Formation
A. Security in Numbers
B. Suggestion
C. Novelty
D. Loss of Identity
E. Release of Emotions
IV. Controlling the Peaceful Crowd
A. Have enough personnel
B. Provide tight perimeter control.
C. Create colored zones.
D. Minimize the number of active doors.
E. Use signs and soft barriers like stanchions.
F. Provide each person in the crowd with a directory.
G. Place a door monitor at each active door.
H. Provide soft music with subliminal messaging.
I. Provide an adequate number of ushers to direct the crowd.
J. Provide safe, clean and sanitary facilities.
K. Provide a lost child response procedure.
L. Equip the security force with two-way radios and flashlights.
M. Have medical emergency equipment available.
N. Establish a public law enforcement liaison.
V. Controlling the Hostile crowd
A. Call public law enforcement.
B. Follow your training, policies and procedures.
C. Assure that officer safety remains concern number one.
D. Act quickly to eliminate unacceptable behavior and enforce rules.
E. Remove or isolate individuals involved in precipitating an incident before the crowd can achieve unity of purpose.
F. Very carefully use justifiable force to eject subjects from a crowd when necessary.
G. Ignore personal verbal attacks.
H. Attempt to fragment the crowd into small isolated groups.
I. Remove the crowd leaders.
J. Divert the attention of the crowd by use of the public address system.
K. Use a recognized community leader to restore calm.
L. When the public law enforcement personnel arrive, stand down and assist them.
VI. Security Officer Personal Behavior
A. Stand your ground without yielding
B. Avoid all unnecessary conversation
C. Do not exchange pleasantries with the members of the crowd.
D. Do not give the impression that you are a soft target.
E. Use reasonable force to enforce the law.
F. Remain on the fringe of the crowd.
G. Assist fellow officers who may be in trouble.
H. Refrain from participating in crowd activities.
I. If the situation becomes dangerous, give or get space.
J. Retreat if you can do so without injury to yourself or others.
VII. Two-Way Radio Use
1. Examine radio parts including the antenna, battery, and body.
2. Hold the radio upright when transmitting.
3. Consider “ground-wave propagation” when transmitting.
4. Speak clearly and loud enough to be heard.
5. Do not holler or speak loudly into the radio.
6. Speak across the face of the radio not directly at it.
7. Use simple language and simple words.
8. Keep all transmissions short and use ten-codes when appropriate.
9. When asked to repeat a message, use different, simpler words.
10. Choose the correct channel on the radio.
11. Check for a clear channel before keying the microphone.
12. Secure the radio and prevent dropping it.
13. Use the ear piece when in a crowd or when there is loud background noise.
14. Be aware of who is near you and listening to you speak especially in elevators.
15. Never use words like “fire,” “gun,” “dead,” or profanity. over the radio.
16. Move out of “dead spots” to reestablish communications.
VIII. Proactive Prevention Requires Planning
A. Design professional practices and procedures to deal with all kinds of crowds.
B. Develop and deliver extensive cognitive training for security practitioners.
C. Provide specialized training on mood profiling of a crowd.
D. Provide 24 hours of mandatory on-the-job training for security practitioners.
E. Provide an adequate number of unarmed security officers and ushers
F. Provide an adequate number of supervisors respecting “span of control” guidelines.
G. Provide supervisors with less-than-lethal weapons
H. Provide extensive weapons training for the supervisors.
I. Provide adequate levels of equipment in good working condition:
1. Communications = two-way radio, public address systems, bull horns cell phones.
2. Flashlights
3. Portable Barriers
4. First aid kits, AED kits and oxygen
5. Ambulance or first aid rooms
6. Lost child search procedure
7. Disabled persons area with wheel chairs
8. Safe room for VIP escape
9. Alternate power sources
J. Perform a specific risk analysis before each event.
K. Make strategy changes and additional training based on foreseeable threats.
L. Provide public relations training for all officers and ushers.
INSTRUCTOR EXPECTATIONS
The instructor expects each student to have perfect attendance, be on time for each session, keep their breaks to the posted time limits, be alert during each seminar training session and participate in exercises and projects. Students are to complete their work on time and maintain the highest level of integrity during testing. Students will be encouraged to speak their mind and challenge the instructor as the need arises. Each student is encouraged to take notes.
HOW THE STUDENT WILL BE EVALUATED
The instructor will use a pass/fail method of evaluation. The only testing used in this seminar is an occasional tutorial exam. The students will be evaluated by their participation in the seminar and by the amount they contributed to discussions and by their comments made during the presentations. The evaluation will also include how well the student met the instructor’s expectations as set out above.
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION & GRADE SHEET
Certificate of completion will be awarded to each student after his or her successful completion of the course. The certificate of completion will indicate date of completion, hours of attendance, and the specific seminars that have been successfully completed. The Certificate will have attached to it a grade sheet that will specifically spell out each student’s achievement.
The student’s employer will receive the original of the certificate and student background sheet, and a copy of same for their files. Charles T. Thibodeau and Associates will keep an original of the student background sheet and a copy of the certificate. If for any reason the student wishes a duplicate copy of the certificate and background sheet, Charles T. Thibodeau and Associates will provide that to the student upon request. There may be a small service fee for production and mailing of the reproduced records for the student.