A new report makes several recommendations to help police forces work more effectively with organisers to deliver safer public events. Read on as Michelle Skeer, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, discusses the inspection report, and why she thinks a Government-led review of public safety is the way forward…

Anyone who has organised or policed a major public event knows the immense effort that goes into keeping people safe. Music festivals, cultural celebrations and community gatherings bring people together. But they also bring crowds, complexity and risk.

Behind every public event that goes smoothly is the hard work by organisers, local authorities, the police and many others. However, our recent inspection found that too often, the arrangements some organisations have for keeping the public safe are inconsistent, unclear and at times insufficient.

Our inspection looked at how police forces work with safety advisory groups, which are forums that discuss and advise on public safety at events, as well as other responsible bodies, such as private event organisers and local authorities. As part of this inspection, we looked at the important role you as event organisers play in delivering a safe public event. We spoke to representatives from the Events Industry Forum and event organisers. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our inspection.

Promisingly, we found that safety at football grounds has improved significantly since the 1990s. In large part, this is because of clear legislation, statutory guidance, a certification regime and governance by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority. But as you will be all too aware, this clarity does not exist for all other types of public events. There is no legal basis for safety advisory groups, no consistent national standard for risk assessment, and often no reliable route for police forces to recover the costs of safety operations. The result is a patchwork of approaches that varies from one local authority to the next.

Most concerningly, we heard from many across the sector that it is a question of when, not if, safety at a public event will go wrong. This is something that should concern us all. Safety advisory groups should bring together event organisers, local authorities and the police to plan thoroughly and manage risk together. But where they don’t exist, or operate inconsistently, that joint working is missing and the public’s safety is at risk.

That is why we’re recommending the Government carries out a wide-scale review of the arrangements for public safety at events. Alongside our call for this review, we’ve also made a further 36 recommendations. These recommendations are designed to help police forces work more effectively with event organisers to deliver safer public events.

Our recommendations cover the wide-ranging issues that came up on our inspection, including the need for improved training for police commanders and safety advisory group attendees and developing a national police support function for events. They are designed to improve the way the police work with you as event organisers and others across the sector. For example, we’re recommending that all police forces should have documented protocols with event organisers to make clear in what circumstances police may need to take responsibility for public safety at an event. This would give both the police and organisers clarity about their respective roles and responsibilities.

The changes we’re calling for are about giving everyone involved, including the police, local authorities and event organisers, the clarity and consistency they need to do their job well. We believe that these changes would mean fewer grey areas and reduce the risks whichever local authority happens to be involved.

The alternative – carrying on with the current inconsistency – is not an outcome that any of us working to keep the public safe at events want. It is vital that these recommendations are acted upon before another serious incident forces change.

A Government-led review would offer an opportunity to address the long-standing challenges you face in delivering safe public events. It would give everyone involved, including you as organisers, the police and local authorities, clarity about who is responsible for what and the confidence to act on it. With millions of people attending public events every year, that clarity cannot be optional. It must be the standard we all work to.