News from the NCS4 Industry Day in Washington D.C. reveals that more than 12,000 people died due to crowd crush at public and sporting events in 2010.
According to Dane Dodd, CPP of Contemporary Services Corporation, the increase in the deaths is due to old crowd management strategies and tactics being used in a new paradigm, while the behavior of the crowd has changed dramatically.
Dodd says that crowds are organized and using social media causing flash crowds, demonstrations and disruptive behavior due to online ticketing systems that no longer separate home and away fans. This has also resulted in a 200 percent spike in crimes, he says, including sexual assaults, in parking lots at stadiums and arenas.
NCS4 is developing best practices for event and crowd management including policies, architecture and crowd control, technology, multi-lateral communication and training at the Industry Day.
