46 Questions to Ask a Security Company for an Event

A security company is only as good as the plan it works to. Before you call, write down what you need: attendance, hours, entrances, alcohol, cash handling and anything your permit, venue or insurer requires. Your event safety plan is the document the security company should read first, and the event security staff calculator gives you a starting headcount to test their recommendation against.

• Event dates, hours, setup and teardown times
• Expected attendance and peak attendance at one time
• Site map with entrances, exits, stages, bars, cash points and restricted areas
• Alcohol: who serves it, where and until when
• Permit, venue and insurance conditions on security or police
• Known risks: VIPs, protests, high-value items, weather

1. Is your company licensed in this state, and what is the license number?
2. Is every officer you send individually licensed or registered where the state requires it?
3. What background checks do you run on your officers?
4. What training do officers complete before working an event like ours?
5. Will any officers be armed, and if so, what additional licensing do they hold?

1. How many officers do you recommend, and how did you arrive at that number?
2. How many supervisors will be on site, and how many officers does each supervise?
3. Can you give us a post-by-post deployment plan with hours for each post?
4. Are the officers your employees, or do you use subcontractors?
5. How do you handle no-shows on the day, and how quickly can you replace an officer?
6. How are breaks covered so posts are never left empty?
7. What will officers wear, and how will attendees recognize them?

1. What events of our size and type have you worked in the last two years?
2. How do you monitor crowd density at stages, entrances and bottlenecks?
3. What do officers do when an area becomes too crowded?
4. How do you manage queues at peak arrival?
5. Have you worked at our venue, and do you know its exits and emergency routes?

1. How do you run bag checks, and how many attendees per hour can one lane screen?
2. Will you use metal detectors or wands, and who supplies them?
3. How do you handle prohibited items that attendees refuse to give up?
4. How do you check re-entry, wristbands or credentials?
5. How do officers search respectfully and handle accessibility needs?

1. Will your officers check IDs at alcohol service points or entrances?
2. How do you deal with intoxicated attendees, and when do you remove someone?
3. What is your ejection procedure, and who authorizes it?
4. How do you work with bar staff to stop service to someone?

1. How do your officers coordinate with on-site EMS or first aid?
2. What medical training do your officers have, such as CPR or AED?
3. How do you work with local police, and who calls them?
4. Do you arrange police details, or do we, and what does our permit require?
5. What is your role in an evacuation or shelter-in-place?
6. Who is the single point of contact between security, EMS, police and the organizer?

1. Do you supply radios, and which channel will security share with our team?
2. Will a supervisor attend our briefing and the command post during the event?
3. What code words or alerts will you use for emergencies?
4. How will officers reach a supervisor if radios fail?

1. How do officers record incidents, and what does a report include?
2. When will we receive incident reports: on the night or after the event?
3. Do officers wear body cameras, and how is footage stored and shared?
4. Who keeps lost property and how is it logged?

1. What general liability insurance do you carry, and at what limits?
2. Can you name us and the venue as additional insured on your certificate?
3. Do you carry workers' compensation for every officer on site?
4. What does your quote include, and how are overtime and extra hours billed?
5. What is your cancellation policy if our event is postponed or cancelled?
6. Can we speak to two organizers of events like ours?

• Can't give a license number or won't let you check it
• A headcount with no post-by-post plan behind it
• No supervisor on site, or one supervisor for a large team
• Officers supplied by unnamed subcontractors
• No written incident reporting process
• Vague answers on how they work with EMS and police
• No certificate of insurance or refusal to name you as additional insured
• A much lower hourly rate than every other bid, with no explanation

Score each company from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on each line, multiply by the weight and add the totals. The weights are an example; change them to fit your event's risks.

1. 1

   Name every location

   Mark every entrance, exit, stage, bar, cash point, first aid post and restricted area on your site map, and give each a name the security company will use on the radio.

2. 2

   Agree posts with the company

   Agree each post, its hours and its duties. The crowd management guide covers entrances, queues and density at busy points.

3. 3

   Brief and set the reporting process

   Brief officers with the organizer's contacts, the emergency plan and the incident process. Use the event incident report form so every report has the same fields.

4. 4

   Share the map with attendees

   Publish exits, first aid and entrances on the attendee map so people can find help without asking. For outdoor events, festival management software puts the site map and announcements in one place.