The security industry employs approximately ten million to one crore people which includes cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, electronic security along physical security personnel
The security industry is one of the industries which employs the largest numbers of personnel. The industry employs ten million or one crore people which includes cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, electronic security along physical security personnel. Security work is not a monolith and hence it requires specialisation to deal with different situations. A security guard standing at the gate of society requires a different skill set than the person providing security at a musical event or a religious event. Since the works are different therefore the training of these personnel should also be different along with a certain social security needs to be given to these security personnel keeping in view the risk that is involved in their work. To highlight all the challenges that the security industry facing today as well as the solutions to these problems Harsh Wardhan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), BW Security World, Former Group MD, G4S and CEO Securitas addressed a keynote session at BW Security 40 under 40 awards.
“In India, I don’t think we have been doing crowd management, but there is no specialised vertical or a company where crowd management has been well started or implemented. In the US, in Europe, there are specialised companies that take care of crowd management, as they might think, it requires different kinds of skills, it cannot be the same security guard who is standing at the gate serving the purpose of standing outside the chairman’s office. So, different skills, different verticals are required,” said Wardhan.
He also highlighted what are the issues that girls and ladies face in a crowded event and how a conducive, protective and secure environment be created by proper skill training of security personnel. He also highlighted how the security personnel standing at the airports can help create a better picture of India on the international front by providing high-quality safety and security.
“When there are music events and a lot of girls and ladies are there, some kind of hooligans will come there and start making noises. I would say when any international passenger lands in India and finds such a dense crowd, the impression becomes different, the first impression coming to our country starts with the airport, how they are organised, who is helping them who is assisting them,” Wardhan added.
He also said that the most advanced and latest technological tools are used to create a better experience. The elements of security are mobile petrol armed guards, escort guards and washers. Venue management who is in charge of that area, supervises all operations and figures out any possible choke points, excess route signages, emergency services and so on. Everything should be with the signage. Crowd manager’s quick response time and then the use of technology of crowd surrealists. Nowadays, drone facial recognition, AI internet integration or cloud management are there, but above anything planning is important, he emphasised.
He further mentioned, “Effective crowd management helps to ensure the safety of those at an event from the guest to the staff and performance. The consequences of a poorly managed crowd can be disasters, people can be injured and lives can be lost, even if an event is poorly managed, but nobody’s heard it will not bode well for the future events once the particular event has gone bad. Also if there is 50 seat arrangement and you issue 200 tickets, it becomes chaotic, so people keep standing which sometimes results in the occurrences of adverse incidents and violent offences.”
Written by: Sheikh Rishad
