259 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
259 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
October 1991
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EFFECTIVE CROWD CONTROL
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By
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Steven J. Schmidt
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Lieutenant Colonel
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Assistant Chief of Police
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Covington, Kentucky, Police Department
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While small to midsized departments may be located in areas
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where the problem of crowd control is virtually nonexistent,
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there could be times when they have to police large groups of
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people during special local events. There are also times when
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smaller cities that border large municipalities must deal with
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the overflow of people attending an event in that municipality.
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For example, Covington, Kentucky, currently has 91 sworn
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officers to police a population of 50,000. But, because
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Covington is separated from Cincinnati, Ohio, by only the Ohio
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River, the Covington Police Department must prepare for overflow
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crowds that are generated by special events held in Cincinnati.
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And, because police managers must regard even peaceful crowds as
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having riot potential, planning is critical to effective crowd
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control. (1) This article discusses exactly what areas of
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concern should be addressed when planning for crowd control and
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how police managers should approach the task.
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PLANNING FOR CROWD CONTROL
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A step-by-step plan is important to effective crowd
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control. In order to ensure a well-policed event, police
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managers should prepare ahead of time for any conceivable
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problems.
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Personnel
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To plan for effective crowd control, police managers should
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consider what personnel resources are available. For example, a
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traffic division with officers who are experienced in traffic
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flow is invaluable. Also invaluable when planning for crowd
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control is a police auxiliary, which could help in areas where
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sworn officers are not needed. In extreme cases, the National
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Guard can be used as additional resources.
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Other personnel resources to draw from include officers
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from neighboring police departments, the fire department, the
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public works department, the Red Cross, and citizen band radio
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clubs. Private businesses, such as bus companies, are also
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sometimes willing to lend equipment to assist in crowd control.
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Buses make effective barricades to block intersections.
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Advance Notification
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Another important task when planning for a special event is
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to notify businesses and residents in the affected area of how
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much disruption they can expect. Ground rules should be
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discussed ahead of time so that there are no misunderstandings
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during the event. Also, if public transportation is expected to
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be disrupted, alternate routes should be designated prior to the
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event, and fire and ambulance personnel should be contacted to
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determine checkpoints for rapid access routes.
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Traffic Control
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Traffic control is important to policing any major event.
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"No parking" areas should be designated and posted before the
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event. Officials should advertise these restrictions through
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the media and through flyers sent to residents and businesses in
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the affected areas.
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Officials should also contract with a wrecker service to
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tow vehicles parked in restricted areas. Because special events
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often place unusual demands on wrecker services, they should be
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given advance notice of what to expect. It is also important to
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choose an impoundment location and agree on the release
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procedure.
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Command Posts
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Command posts are an integral part of any special events
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operation. Department personnel should determine how much space
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they need for the post, the amount of parking space available in
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the areas being considered, and whether the locations have land
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lines for communication purposes. Officials should also make
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provisions for a remote dispatch location. If officers have
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more than one channel on their radios, this could be as simple
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as switching to a secondary channel for the event and using a
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portable radio with a charger.
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If an event lasts more than 8 hours, food, coffee, and soft
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drinks should be available in the command post for officers who
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work the detail. Police managers should also make arrangements
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to clean the post after use, especially if the space was loaned
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to the department by a local business.
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Assignments
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All officers who work the event should receive clear,
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written instructions about the assignment. For example, a map
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of the event area should be prepared, showing its parameters,
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with all checkpoints clearly marked. If a specific checkpoint
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is one of "no-access under any circumstance," the officer
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assigned to that checkpoint should be aware of that stipulation
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ahead of time.
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Officials should also prepare a contingency personnel plan
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in the event officers who are assigned to work the event call in
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sick. And, there should be additional flexibility in the
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assignments in order to cover holes in the perimeters that even
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the most careful planner may overlook.
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Also a consideration when planning for personnel is whether
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a meal break will be necessary for the officers. Although extra
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teams are sometimes required to relieve officers, if enough
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officers are assigned to the teams, half the team can be
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relieved at a time.
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Equipment
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Extra equipment should always be available during large
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events. Police managers should ensure that extra radios,
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flashlights, batteries, and handcuffs are stored at the command
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post. When planning for extra equipment, police managers should
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also consider whether there will be special transportation
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needs. All-terrain vehicles (ATV) and golf carts that local
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businesses may loan to the department could prove invaluable.
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Officers can use ATVs to check unpaved areas and police managers
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can use golf carts to get to checkpoints if the size of the
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crowd does not permit using an automobile.
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Special Considerations
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Officials should make every effort to keep large events
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free of alcohol. If this is impossible, either through legal
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means or simple reasoning, managers should document problems
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arising from the use of alcohol to argue for alcohol-free events
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in the future.
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If officials are successful in banning alcohol consumption
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during the event, it is important to publicize this fact. All
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coolers taken into the event area should be checked for alcohol,
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and dumpsters should be available at the perimeters to dispose
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of any confiscated liquor.
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The Perimeter
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Police managers should decide ahead of time what the
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perimeter of the event site will be and then publicize this
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perimeter. Officials should bear in mind that if the perimeter
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is too large, it will be difficult to control the crowd, and the
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officers would have too large an area to police. The perimeter
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should be checked thoroughly for any gaps that would allow
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lapses in security. Specific areas should be blocked, including
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intersections and checkpoints.
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It may also be prudent to block off parking lots inside the
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perimeter. If a large amount of pedestrian traffic is expected
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following the event, the mixture of automobiles and pedestrians
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could prove dangerous. Controlling the parking lots allows the
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bulk of the pedestrian traffic to leave the perimeter first.
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Cars can then leave in stages, minimizing the likelihood of
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either a pedestrian/automobile accident or total gridlock.
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THE EVENT
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Before
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Except for the officers who need to start their shift
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earlier in order to remove cars parked in restricted areas or to
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block off critical areas, officers working the detail should
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assemble about 1 hour before the event. During this time,
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police managers can hold a final briefing with the supervisors
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and discuss any necessary changes. They can also ensure that
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all officers are using the correct radio channel and give
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directions for ending the detail.
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Just prior to the start of the event, officers should again
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check the restricted area for possible problems. It is much
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easier to resolve problems before the crowds begin to arrive
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than to deal with both problems and crowds.
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During
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The majority of the officers should position themselves at
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the perimeter of the event. By keeping the majority of the
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officers where the spectators pass, the perceived numbers
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advantage remains with the police. It also makes it easier for
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police managers to know the location of their officers. And,
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although most of the officers involved in controlling the crowd
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will be on foot, mobile units should also be available to
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respond to critical incidents that occur within or around the
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perimeter.
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The number of officers working together in a group will
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vary with the situation, but no officers should work alone.
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Also, if possible, officers from a plainclothes unit should
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mingle with the crowd. Not only can plainclothes officers spot
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violations more easily than uniformed officers, but they also
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can make quick arrests that minimize any disruptions to the
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crowd.
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Any person arrested during the event should be quickly
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removed from the crowd and transported away from the area by
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officers who are specifically assigned this duty. This
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minimizes the loss of personnel who are working the actual
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event.
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When the event ends, stragglers sometimes remain. To
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counter this problem, floodlights that can be borrowed from the
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local fire department should be concentrated on the areas in
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which spectators are likely to congregate. This serves as a
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signal that it is time to leave. Officers should also scan the
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area for any remaining spectators as they leave their posts to
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return to the command post.
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After
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The hours following the end of an event are busy for patrol
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officers. If possible, officials should schedule additional
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patrol units to work until things return to normal. Because no
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major event can be kept completely alcohol and drug free, patrol
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units may have to deal with fights, injuries, and accidents that
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occur among the spectators. (2)
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All officers should report to the command post before going
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off duty. This allows officials to record overtime and check
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the records for accuracy, as well as recover any equipment that
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has been loaned out.
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Police managers should keep detailed records of the
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planning stages, and they should compile a list of recommended
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changes for policing the next event. They should also write
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formal letters of appreciation to any person outside the
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department who donated equipment or assisted in some other
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manner.
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CONCLUSION
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Policing an event that generates large crowds is a major
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undertaking that requires extensive planning. Police managers
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must follow a step-by-step plan that ensures that the crowd is
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controlled with the fewest number of problems possible. A
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well-developed, well-executed plan results in events that are
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safe to police officers, visitors, and the community.
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FOOTNOTES
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(1) Richard A. Berk, "Collective Behavior" (Dubuque, Iowa:
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William C. Brown Co., 1974).
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(2) Adrian F. Aveni, "The Not-So-Lonely Crowd: Friendship
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Groups in Collective Behavior," Sociometry, vol. 40, No. 1,
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January 1977, pp. 96-99.
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