NCS4 Releases Current Safety and Security Best Practices

The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at The University of Southern Mississippi recognizes the need to make effective safety and best practices available to the sports safety and security industry.

Therefore, each year the NCS4 publishes new and updated versions of four best practices guides including the Marathon and Running Events Safety and Security Best Practices Guide, Intercollegiate Athletics Safety and Security Best Practices Guide, Interscholastic Athletics and After-School Safety and Security Best Practices Guide, and the Commercial Sport and Entertainment Facilities Best Practices Guide.

“This is the most current set of best practices developed by the industry for each of the four domain areas,” said NCS4 Director Lou Marciani. “These guides are intended to assist venue security and event management teams.”

The purpose of each of the Safety and Security Best Practices Guide is to recommend polices, practices, and implementation procedures aimed at identifying vulnerabilities, mitigating risk, and protecting critical assets.  It may be used as a reference for those responsible for the design and development of safety and security plans and procedures. Each year, subsequent editions of the guide(s) are developed with input from practitioners, subject matter experts, and current academic research.

Elizabeth Voorhees, director of certification and compliance at NCS4, coordinates the development of best practices. She maintains that “Each Best Practices Guide addresses core components and standard operating procedures in sports safety and security, including game/event day security operations, crowd dynamics/management, and emergency planning.  The guides establish baseline safety and security standards in sport event management, and are tailored to meet the needs of each respective industry segment.”

The guides provide general guidance and serve has as a template for creating safety and security related plans and procedures. They can also be used as an audit tool to evaluate and improve current processes. The Guides should be used in conjunction with other resources, as determined by each event venue and its operators to ensure the appropriate level of safety and security is reached based on their unique characteristics and specific needs.

To download your complimentary guide(s), visit https://www.ncs4.com/about/best-practices.