Event Planning & Security Management

Our commitment to guest and staff safety starts at the operational planning stage. We work with our clients from the start to fully understand our clients and event licencing requirements. We will hold an initial consultation with our client to get a full understanding of; the event type, the event demographic, the expected and maximum capacity of the event, site plans, the event operational times, any significant incidents from previous events, any specific licencing and insurance requirements applied to the event, the risk assessments our client have carried out and the number of staff our clients would like to have on the event. Once the initial consultation is complete, if the event has run previously, we will review up to three years of event history. This allows us to understand any past incidents, the challenges that were addressed in previous years, and general customer feedback. We use this information to help ensure we meet not only our client’s expectations, but also those of our client’s customers.

After we have all the information we require, we will put together a comprehensive security operations plan that not only addresses general security operations and deployments, but also outlines potential incidents that could occur, the security team’s response to major incidents, and arrangements for customer welfare and safeguarding during the event. We will also carry out our own risk assessments, which will form part of the operations plan. Once completed, we will submit a draft copy of the plan to our client for their approval and input. As part of the deployment planning phase, we may advise our clients to increase security numbers in key areas to ensure the event is adequately covered.

Once the security operations plan is approved and deployment has commenced, we utilise a combination of general security teams, response teams, VIP/asset protection teams, patrol teams, search teams, and event stewards to ensure our client’s customers, staff, and reputation are kept safe during operational times. We adapt the recommended level of cover to the event type and associated risk factors to ensure we provide the correct level of cover for our client’s events.

All operational planning is guided by established event safety standards, including the Purple Guide, and informed by extensive operational experience. We can advise on safe operating capacities and, when preparing the operations plan, may recommend adjustments to zoning, queuing systems, and entry and exit routes to enhance both safety and the guest experience.

We support small and private events across the UK, and they receive the same level of service and planning as our larger events.

For large and more complex events, with an event capacity of 3000 or more, we request, where possible, 3–6 months of preparation time prior to the deployment of our teams. This allows us sufficient time to complete a comprehensive security operations plan, which on average ranges between 220–280 pages per deployment, carry out detailed risk assessments, allocate staff and equipment, and make any necessary adjustments to our operations plan following feedback from our client.

For small or private events, we ask for 6–8 weeks’ preparation time to ensure we can produce an appropriate operations plan and have sufficient staff available to meet our clients’ requirements. Unlike some competitors, Definitive Security Services will not take on an event deployment unless we have both the staff and the operational planning time available to provide adequate cover for our clients’ events.