Pollstar: While the security industry has been shaken by the nightmare that transpired at Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, W.B. “Bart” Butler, president/CEO of Rock Solid Security in Nashville, says the industry will definitely change, but it will take some time.
4 comments:
It must be very difficult to try to improve security on big concerts or events like this because at least in this instance the shooter was not even at the concert. They would not have guessed that someone was going to shoot at the concert from the hotel across the street. It is good that they are trying to use more advanced technology to try and make things safer and check more things out. It must be so hard to have that responsibility to protect everyone at the concert and then something goes wrong. I think it was really interesting when the article discussed that it is hard to have security guards put their lives on the line when they are only getting paid $10 an hour versus a police officer that gets paid more. There is no reason why the life of a security guard is not as valuable as a person attending the concert, so it is a lot to ask them to do whatever it takes to protect people from a shooter.
I really don’t know what to say about this. Security and safety have always been issues that plagued theaters and other types of entertainment. It is sad to think that we have come to a point where even something as generic as a concert – where there is no political or religious agenda – needs to have armed security. Crowds at concerts can get out of control, but that threat is minimal compared to an active shooter. After 9/11, everything changed. Our rabbi started pointing out the nearest exits and what to do in case of an emergency during our high holiday services. Security at airports tightened up. The article makes a very valid – and scary point – Vegas hotels have some of the highest end security and surveillance systems. How do the rest of us handle this type of security with less support and resources? The best plan might be to not have a plan and not show fear by adding additional security. That has the terrible and horrifying potential for increased loss of life. I’m open to suggestions, but I’ll say this – the more we stand together the more lone shooters will stand out.
For me, the most interesting point of this article was the call for "Apart from discussion, which Butler welcomes among the industry in a symposium or conference setting, the important thing is to remain proactive, having the right procedures in place to handle things before they happen." Remaining proactive and having conferences and or training in a widespread manner, or updated industry standards seems like a really important thing to have happen. The article's conclusion, "The entertainment world is vulnerable now and it always has been, it’s just that someone took advantage of it. I’m more concerned about the copycats wanting to make their name, you might say. Terrorism is designed to cause terror. And it’s going to be up to us to not let that happen, in any form" is a really sobering thought. We know from recent events that tragedies like this will keep happening, especially if no changes are made to our gun legislations. The entertainment industry has often been brushed aside as an industry that is not with-in the norms of what a typical job is, but we, more than any law office or accounting firm, have more civilians present, and the need for security and standards is at a critical moment.
This a situation that is difficult to find solutions for. Short of common sense gun laws to help curtail these incidents of violence and brutality, how do you prepare for the worst while still allowing event attendees to feel safe and have fun? It is encouraging that this security firm is engaging with local and federal law enforcement to better prepare for this deadly possibility. Though I have to admitthat snipers at any event would make me incredibly uncomfortable and unlikely to remain at that event. I also thought it was good to touch on how the security personnel themselves are dealing with all these tragic events and their ensuing changes on so little pay. For other professions that encounter death as a possibility of their employment (police, military personnel, etc.) there is higher pay and the promise of pension for your family if you should be killed on duty. For security personnel, however, there is not the same support and with the likelihood of these workers encountering such danger more regularly rising, hiring security for an event might soon become one of the most expensive parts of the entire set up.
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