Security Essen 2014: New Technologies for Safe Large Events
The Annual Market and Advertising Medium Analysis made by the IfD Allensbach Demographic Institute for 2013, came to the conclusion that 37% of Germans were interested in rock and pop concerts, 30% in large sporting events, 27% in Bundesliga football matches, 26% in festivals and 20% in public viewing events. Large events are popular in Germany and large events are comparatively safe too – also thanks to ultramodern technology as will be introduced at Security Essen on September 23 – 26, 2014.
During the “October Festival 2013” in Munich, the risk of falling victim to bodily harm (e.g. during one of the 58 registered stein brawls) was just 0.007 percent (6. 4 million visitors and 449 cases of bodily harm). The danger during a visit to a stadium for a Bundesliga football match was even lower (0.004 percent). For the 2012/2013 season, Zentrale Informationsstelle Sporteinsätze der Polizei Nordrhein – Westfalen (ZIS – “Central Information Agency for Deployments at Sporting Events of the Police Force in North Rhine – Westphalia”) registered 788 casualties from around 18 million visits to stadia in the first and second divisions. In comparison: According to the police crime statistics, the overall risk in Germany was 0.47 percent in 2012.
Premier Global Fair Will Present Security Technology for Large Events
The fact that visits to events in Germany are comparatively safe may be attributed to the interplay between sever al decisive factors, including well – thought – out and repeatedly checked requirements relating to the construction of venues and to the staging of events, the deployment of ever better – qualified security staff and continuously improved security solutions. Security Essen 2014 will offer an overview of the latest technical and personnel – related solutions as well as their optimum interaction. A lot of the more than 1,000 exhibitors will offer solutions with which supervisory authorities and organisers can reduce the security risks at large events even further.
A great feeling of security is an important secondary condition for the economic success of large events. Correspondingly, the organisers of sporting events invest in constructional security. According to official data, about Euro 625 million of the total volume of the equivalent of Euro 11 billion is to be spent on security at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, more than half of it on security technology. According to a study conducted by GTAI (Germany Trade & Invest GmbH, Berlin – the government's own company for the promotion of foreign trade), around 42 perent of the investment was planned for the setting – up of security control centres, 16 percent for IT and 14 percent for video surveillance and admission checkin g systems.
Stadium Security is a Big Subject in Germany
However, “stadium security” is a subject even in comparatively safe Germany. In its Annual Report 2013, ZIS came to the conclusion that there are still security – relevant shortcomings in the infrast ructure of nearly all the stadia in both the Bundesliga football divisions. Until now, the police has had to compensate for these shortcomings. However, the image of the clubs and the Bundesliga divisions is being affected by recurring reports of violent f ans inside or outside the stadia or by the utilisation of pyrotechnics in the stands of the stadia. For example, a market research study commissioned by Deutsche Fußball – Liga GmbH (DFL – “German Football League”) indicated that 96 percent of the visitors t o the stadia feel safe but only 68 percent of the overall population believe that a visit to a stadium is a safe matter.
Both DFL and Deutscher Fußballbund (DFB – “German Football Federation”) have attended to the subject and passed resolutions relating t o packages of measures which are intended to improve not only the feeling of security but also the real security conditions. In particular, a positive external effect appears to be desirable. In addition to the attempt to influence the behaviour of the fan s, security technology and organisation should, if at all possible, also be up – to – date in the future. For example, the objectives in DFL's current security concept include the fact that the clubs in the top two Bundesliga football divisions should endeavou r to obtain meaningful safety certificates. A Europe – wide call for bids has been sent to certifiers and, according to DFL, should be concluded in the near future.
After Being Promoted to the First Division, FC Köln Will Play with TÜV Certification
Parallel to this, the certifier TÜV Rheinland (“Rhineland Technical Monitoring Association”) has developed an auditing procedure and, in a pilot assignment, will provide 1. FC Köln (promoted to the first division in 2014) with a safety certificate for its mat ches in the Rhein – Energie Stadium in Cologne. In particular, not only the fire protection measures and the configuration of the escape routes but also the admission checking systems and the efficiency of the deployed stewarding service were reviewed in thi s procedure. In total, 1,400 criteria were taken into consideration by the external auditors.
All the measures in the stadia are based on DFB's “Guidelines for Improving Security” which were last updated in 2013 and are binding for matches in the top thre e divisions. Stipulations for both safety and security are formulated in detail here – with regard not only to the constructional conditions and the technical systems but also to the organisation of the security and stewarding services. In March 2014, the guidelines were then supplemented by the manual which was entitled “Video Technology and Data Protection in the Stadium”, was elaborated together with ZVEI – Fachverband Sicherheit (“Trade Association for Security in the Central Association of the Electrotechnology and Electronics Industries”) and offers planning and deployment instructions for the use of high – definition camera systems.
Security Essen Will Show New CCTV Solutions
The reports on DFB's sports tribunal proceedings show how necessary it is for the cameras to be capable of identifying those fans who endanger other spectators by setting off pyrotechnics or even commit offences with direct physical violence. Since the beginning of 2014, fines and penalties have been imposed on 16 of the 18 clubs in the first division due to the “unsporting behaviour” of their spectators. Hannover 96 was hit hardest with a Euro 50,000 fine plus a requirement to spend another Euro 50,000 on violence prevention measures. The club's fans had repeatedly set off pyrote chnics during the home match against Eintracht Braunschweig. In this case, a banger had injured one spectator.
In 2013, Eintracht Frankfurt had to pay the highest fine of Euro 100,000 imposed for the pyrotechnical activities of some fans at a game against Leverkusen. According to DFB, the fine could even have turned out to be substantially higher but Frankfurt had subsequently implemented the security measures in a consistent way and had declared numerous stadium bans, including those on 14 offenders ascer tained at the Leverkusen match.
The camera technology utilised in Leverkusen made it easier to ascertain the offenders. For example, so – called multifocal cameras were installed in the Bayarena there in 2012 – these are digital video cameras with up to 17 integrated lenses and technology which makes it possible to portray the entire surveillance area in such a high definition that, even without zooming, they can provide images suitable for identification purposes either live or afterwards. In contrast, norm al cameras can portray just one area in focus in each case: If they zoom in on individual groups of visitors, the other areas of the stadium which are normally monitored by the camera are no longer portrayed or, at least, not in focus. Moreover, multifocal solutions allow stadium operators to dispense with some of the video surveillance cameras in the stadia. The Allianz Arena in Munich serves to show to what extent video surveillance is being utilised in the stada in the meantime: In addition to a few multifocal cameras, around 90 cameras monitor the internal and external areas of the stadium facilities here. The first suppliers of multifocal solutions have already registered for Security Essen 2014.
Technically Possible But Legally Controversial: Automatic Offender Recognition
On the other hand, an automated solution in order to enforce stadium bans effectively and at justifiable expense is still a long way off. An efficient video analysis which compares camera images taken during the admission process wi th the image data on a “blacklist” using a largely automatic method and with a high hit rate would be required for this purpose. Particularly in view of the needs of the police, not only a few publicly funded research projects but also supplier companies a re working on the development of software solutions which function even if people are not cooperating actively. One approach is to be offered, for example, by the research project which is called “MisPel” (Multi – Biometrically Based Forensic Search for People in Photographic Data and in Data Measured Using Video Technology), will continue until the end of 2014 and uses face recognition technologies for the “(semi- )automated recognition of people relevant to investigations from videodata”. However, it has not yet been decided how such technology will comply with the legal outline conditions (above all, the data protection stipulations) and with requirements on the usability in court.
Video Analysis Will be a Top Subject at Security Essen
However, even witho ut such an investigation tool, great significance is attached to video analysis at large events. Solutions which count visitors, detect people trespassing on certain areas or, in the event of occurrences such as the setting – off of Bengal lights, automatically focus on the location of origin are appropriate for practice in the meantime. In the video control centres, security authorities or stewarding services can thus recognise any unusual behaviour by people (e.g. a lengthy stay next to the fence) while the event is ongoing. Without video analysis technologies, it would not be possible to guarantee that relevant incidents are discovered at an early stage in a stadium in which just a few security employees are responsible for up to 100 surveillance cameras during an event. Security Essen 2014 will provide a comprehensive overview of video surveillance systems and video analysis solutions.
New Stimuli for Open – Air Security
Looking at violent clashes between fans occasionally conceals how safe large events in Germany are at venues provided for this purpose. Apart from dangerous situations wilfully caused by visitors or force majeure, the risk factors can largely be mastered by setting official requirements. After the fatalities at the Love Parade in 2010, ve ry much more stringent security demands have been imposed at events outside arenas and have thus led to considerably higher costs – to such an extent that the organisers of a few intended public viewing events on the occasion of the 2014 World Cup have can celled these for economic reasons after becoming aware of the official security requirements.
Here, new stimuli for optimised event security should be provided by the research project which is called “BaSiGo” (“Building Blocks for the Security of Large Ev ents”) and is being funded by the federal government. This should also serve to take better precautions against the consequences of storms. Coordinated by the Security Technology Faculty at the Bergisch University of Wuppertal, instruments for supporting organisers and authorities during the preparation, planning and execution of large events are to be elaborated by February 2015. One essential constituent consists of simulations of the security – relevant flows of people and traffic in the event area. Training concepts for the participating protagonists (including the approval and security authorities, the organisers and the private stewarding services) are being developed as well.
Amongst other bodies at Security Essen, Bundesverband der Sicherheitswirtschaft (BDSW – “Federal Association of the Security Industry”) will offer information about the latest concepts of the security service providers in event protection and, on its cooperative booth in Hall 6, will notify large German security service providers a bout concepts and solutions, also in the field of event security.
New Specimen Assembly Location Regulations
Foreseeably more stringent security requirements will also be introduced for regular assembly locations (at least, in new buildings). The new Specimen Assembly Location Regulations which were presented in April but must still be approved by the EU Commission will impose stiffer stipulations for the smoke discharge in particular. Even those escape routes which have not yet been monitored by fire alarm technology (e.g. through foyers) will have to be included in the fire reporting and alarm systems in the future when a logical evacuation concept will also have to be submitted for event locations designed for more than 1,000 visitors. Security Essen will present a wide available range to planners and operators. Around 100 exhibitors will show solutions for constructional fire protection, 81 will have fire alarm technology in their ranges on offer and it will also be possible to see solutions for extracting smoke or for controlling escape routes. Moreover, these subjects will play important roles on the Fire Protection Day at the premier global fair on September 25, 2014.
The premier global fair will show a wide spectrum of products and solutions also with regard to other security subjects dealt with by authorities and organisers. The exhibits will include the latest RFID-assisted or biometrically assisted admission checking solutions, air locks for people which are suitable for escape routes, scanners for finding dangerous objects, barrier and fence solutions designed for temporary and permanent uses as well as equipment for the employees of rescue and security services.
by the Editorial Staff
Further information: www.security-essen.de
