Nervous about being at crowded events? Here is how to stay safe

Travellers with plans to attend crowded events such as parades, concerts and sporting events have good reason to feel anxious.

In recent months, deadly attacks have caused chaos at New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans and a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, and the threat of terrorism has cancelled other big events around the world.

But the message from security and terrorism experts is simple: Do not let fear win.

“Terrorists want maximum publicity, maximum coverage. They want people to feel like they’re ubiquitous. That it can happen to you anytime, anywhere, and to instil fear in people and to get them to change their lives,” said Dr Colin P. Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group, an intelligence and security consulting firm.

But even if this all sounds very scary, “you have to live your life”, he said.

Police departments and other agencies use layers of security – visible as well as behind the scenes – to protect crowds.

The New York Police Department, for example, begins preparing and gathering intelligence well before a big public gathering. Then it deploys a mix of plain-clothes and uniformed officers to provide protection during, and immediately after, the event, said Deputy Chief James Kehoe, commanding officer of the department’s counterterrorism division.

To beef up security around event perimeters, the police sometimes place concrete blocks or park sanitation trucks to prevent vehicles from entering crowded pedestrian areas.

No security measure can offer absolute protection against all threats, of course, but experts say there are some things you can do to keep yourself, your family and your friends safer in a crowd.

Know your surroundings

Before you head into a crowded area, use your mobile phone’s map app to get the lay of the land, noting traffic flow, possible exits, places you could take shelter, and the location of police and emergency services.

Then put your phone away and pay attention. As Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner of the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism bureau put it: “Get your face out of your phone and look around you.”

Stay especially alert to the people around you, she said. They can help you notice any immediate dangers more quickly.

Make, and share, an emergency plan

Before you head out, plan what to do in case something goes wrong, said Mr Steve Allen, founder of Crowd Safety, a British safety consulting firm that has advised major event organisers worldwide.

Choose a specific place away from crowds as a rendezvous point where you and anybody you are with can meet in case you are separated during an emergency.

“Identify a tall flag or a tall structure and say, ‘Look, if we get lost or anything, that’s where we’re going to meet’,” Mr Allen said. “That’s exactly what I do when I’m on vacation.”

Share your plans, including the address and contact information of where you are staying, as well as what you are doing and when you expect to be home, with a family member or someone close. This is so that a person who is away from the event knows where you are, he added.

Consider carrying a small bag containing necessities such as water, snacks, medicine, a first-aid kit and a cellphone charger, he said. And although it may seem obvious, it bears repeating: Check the weather before you go.

Carry vital health information on you

Do you have any allergies? Need certain medications? Do you have a disability that needs special attention?

Put that information in your mobile phone’s emergency information or medical ID feature so it is accessible from the lock screen, carry a card in your wallet, wear a MedicAlert ID or do all three.

In the case of an emergency, carrying this personal information somewhere on you – and not in a bag or purse, which you could drop or leave behind – could save your life if emergency personnel need to treat you, said Mr Allen.

If you are travelling abroad, carry a photocopy of your passport and learn a few key phrases in the local language, particularly if you have health conditions that would require special consideration from emergency medical personnel.

Do not ignore your instincts

“If you see something, say something” is a slogan most New Yorkers know by heart, but it applies to public safety anywhere, particularly at crowded events.

How do you know if an out-of-place object, a threat on social media or someone’s behaviour is suspicious? Trust your gut, experts say.

“People tend to override their instincts,” Ms Weiner said. You should not be afraid or feel hesitant, she added, to speak up to the police or other security personnel if you encounter something that does not quite sit well with you.

“These are all very intuitive principles for how to navigate the world safely,” Ms Weiner said, “but I’m always surprised how few people actually practise them.”

Make a security checklist

When you are excited to be at a Taylor Swift concert or the Super Bowl, security may not be as intuitive as, say, remembering your tickets. That is why it may help to make a pre-travel security checklist, incorporating many of these tips, to train yourself until these precautions become second nature.

A bonus is that having a checklist can in itself ease some of the anxiety, these experts say, and allow you to focus on what is most important once you get there: having a great time.

“We should be out there, travelling, doing our thing,” Ms Weiner said, “but just being thoughtful.” NYTIMES