Category Archives: Event Venue Security

Effective Bag Checking at Event Venues

Wherever big crowds are gathered; music concerts, sporting events, or conferences, it is always important to conduct bag checks at the entrance. This serves to ensure that guests do not go in with contraband or items that may endanger the lives of others. Here are some tips to keep in mind when checking visitors’ bags:

Never rush

With hundreds of people queued up and clamoring to get in, you may be tempted to rush through the bag checking process. Never make that mistake. Your duty is not to make sure that people get into the venue quickly, it is to keep them safe.

Always search in front of the bag’s owner

Avoid accusations of theft by searching all bags in the full view of the owners. Also, try to return everything in the bag to their original positions.

Have someone watch the people in the queue

While you search the bags, have someone else scan the people in the queue. If they see anyone fidgeting or trying to conceal something in their bag, you should be careful (and thorough) while searching their bags.

Protect yourself

Don’t just dip your hands into a stranger’s bag, there may be sharp or dangerous objects in there. Wear thick gloves or use a baton to move things aside in the bag. If any item feels suspicious, bring it out and exam it in the open.

Hire security guards

If you want bag checks done professionally, then hire professional security guards to do it. These people are trained on how to check bags thoroughly, sniff out danger, and handle any incidents.

For all events in Texas or its environs, contact Western Eagle Security for your security needs. Call 281-496-6800 for any inquiries or to make an appointment.

Hiring Private Security for Private Events

Two Reasons to Hire Private Security

The inherent dangers involved in hosting a private event and the expense of recruiting, hiring, training, equipping and maintaining a guard force makes it necessary to hire private securityfor your event. Whether you have a last-minute business conference at a local Houston hotel or conference center or a well-planned wedding party scheduled, you should have security for the event. Western Eagle Security can send professionally trained and equipped personnel to your event for a fraction of the cost.

Why PrivateSecurity at Private Events

When you host a private event, you do not want to come up short on food and drinks because of “party crashers.” Perhaps in large part due to movies such as Wedding Crashers and Wedding Crashers 2many prescribe to the mentality, “No invite? No problem!” However, it is up to your event planners to make not having an invitation a problem. Placing private securityat the entrance can save you from the embarrassment of not having enough food and beverages for your invited guests. In addition, they can discreetly remove anyone who has consumed too much alcohol, or otherwise worn out their welcome.

Today, when you host a charity event or political fundraiser, you are very likely to have protesters with an opposing viewpoint picket, or in other ways attempt to disrupt, your event. Security in front of the event venue can make everyone invited to your event feel a little more comfortable. Uniformed guards provide a calming effect for your guests.

When you have an event planned for the Texas Training and Conference Centers, either of the Norris Conference Centers, or another venue, call Western Eagle Security for a free appraisal of your private security needs.

Why Private Security Is Less Expensive

Even when you have a standing guard force for your corporation or business, generally they will still need to provide the same protections they do on a day-to-day basis. Hiring, training, and equipping additional personnel for a one-time affair can be time-consuming and expensive. We have the temporary help you need already trained, licensed and equipped, so you can hire our security personnel much more cheaply.

Western Eagle Security –Your Private SecurityProfessionals

Call Western Eagle Security, (281) 496-6800,duringthe planning process. We will send our event appraisers to the location of your conference or celebration and give you an assessment of your needs. You can utilize our website contact form orsend an email: mail@westerneaglesecurity.com,

Event Security is More Important Than Ever Before

This is not a time to stick our heads in the sand and pretend it won’t happen. When planning an event, no matter how large, we must budget and strategically plan event security; identify risks and put measures in place to minimize risks. Any event that will draw a large crowd could potentially become the target of a terrorist group. Planning an event’s security should not detract from the event, but add to the safety and peace of mind of those participating.

To be honest, since 9-11 with the Global War on Terrorism in full-swing and the inability of event organizers or even Homeland Security to predict where and when the next terrorist act will take place, we must plan every event as if an attack is imminent. Michiel Middendorf, the GM for The World Forum, one of the largest event organizers in the world, stated recently, “It is very important that everyone in the event industry openly and honestly discusses such subjects as terrorist threats and security breaches.”

Risk Management

To prevent risk, we must first identify those possible risks. Event planners must ask, what can happen? Then, they must realistically explore the dangers. Event organizers should weigh the possible threats and identify the vulnerabilities, not understate the threats and think because nothing has happened during past events, nothing will happen at this one. The key to a successful event is to minimize threats before the event and include possible reactions into the planning if something does occur.

The best way to minimize any threats is to manage the risk by installing and instilling event security measures such as, controlled entry (if possible, for most sales events or even job fairs the entrance is open to the public and a little more difficult to control; however, the appearance of control is often all that is needed), roving guards (inside and outside), background checks on temporary employees, train everyone on the proper reaction to anything out of the ordinary or hostile action (although employees will still be shocked initially by any unplanned action, after recovery they will remember what their response should be), and training should highlight event security and the employee’s responsibility to assist emergency responders.

Planning Event Security

Whatever plan is worked out, everyone involved should be aware of the plan, from the event organizers to the ushers and ticket takers.

Although the space available and the number of guests expected may dictate how big of a buffer zone is needed from the parking area and other traffic, a minimum 100 feet, where possible, is recommended. Therefore, you should start the plan from there and scale back if necessary.

Event security must include a roving patrol and stationary CCTV to keep an “eye” on areas that will be mostly vacant during the event itself. Ticket takers and ushers could, in fact, be trained, unarmed security personnel if your budget dictates. Additionally, the size of the expected crowd will determine if an emergency response team will be required onsite and if an ambulance is necessary. Even when one is not required, an onsite ambulance and first aid station are advisable.

The better you plan for your event security, the better chance of success for the overall event.

Western Eagle Security – We Can Provide Everything You Need for Event Security

When you are planning an event, we can send someone to make an initial assessment of your event security and what else may be required. Simply call Western Eagle Security, (281) 496-6800 or visit our website and complete the convenient contact form and we will provide a comprehensive assessment of your event and what it will cost. We will determine what additional measures should be taken, such as added cameras, if off-site parking is advisable given the threat, and how many additional security personnel may be required to make the most of your security dollars to protect your guests and resources.

Or, you may wish to send us an email: mail@westerneaglesecurity.com,

Security for Everywhere

Many people tend to assume security guards are only for the big events, like concerts or conventions. That’s false, because our security guards are trained for any kind of situation. While we’ve talked about personal security before, there are other areas that could benefit from having security present.

One of them is the office! If you work in finance, or with any kind of sensitive materials in general, it tends to put people at ease if they know there’s a visible security presence around. These security guards don’t have to sit in your office or anything either; they can take up residence in the main lobby and make sure nobody dangerous comes in. In this situation, they are quite literally the first line of defense.

Factory security guards operate under the same idea. Since a lot of factories are spread out, and therefore would make constant patrolling difficult, the most optimal security is usually done with camera work. It’s still a lot of monitoring, and decisions usually have to be made on the fly. Security guards would also keep an eye on the workers, and go over the appropriate safety measures in case of a threat.

It’s a sad reality, but many public schools these days do need security guards. Security guards working in schools do everything from making sure students are wearing ID badges to monitoring lunchtimes in the cafeteria to breaking up fights between students when they happen. This particular security job means being on alert the entire school day, including periods when there aren’t any students in the building. It can be somewhat intense, because there aren’t times when they can slip away to look at a camera, unlike the other two mentioned.

In any case, while concerts and conventions will likely always retain the highest need for security guards, it’s definitely possible to hire a security guard for any other kind of situation you find yourself in.

Security Everywhere

Western Eagle can provide security for any kind of setting – you name it. Whether it’s apartment complexes, schools, or even convention centers, our teams are ready for any property. What you may not know about us is that we also provide personal security. That is, we can go as general as walking around the perimeter of your property or as specific as bodyguard work. You might think that this is an extreme, but in today’s world, you can never be too careful.

Say, for instance, that you have a stalker. Before, these kind of people usually had to put a lot of work into finding out where the object of their affections lived. They literally had to stalk people from place to place. Now, with the advent of the internet, it’s very easy to google someone and find right away where they live. Suddenly, they just got a lot scarier, didn’t they? Rest assured, it’s just as easy and quick to get a security team out to your property and instruct them on who they absolutely cannot let onto the property. With the advent of the internet, security threats have gone up, but so has security protection.

The above example may seem extreme, but it does happen.

Facebook and other social media companies have actually advised people not to say that they’re going on vacation for whatever period of time online. Why? It’s because so many people have public profiles, and thieves can run a process where they look for people who say that they’re going on vacation. They now know where all the empty houses are, and to ignore any lights that might still be on. A good way to protect yourself against that? Get a security team to monitor your house while you’re away on vacation! Sure, you have a burglar alarm, but who wants to wake up to a call from the alarm company saying that there’s an issue in your house? You’d rather wake up to a call from Western Eagle saying that everything is under control, right?

Suddenly, personal protection doesn’t sound like a bad idea, right? It is important that you know how to take the smaller security steps, like keeping your personal information off the Internet and making sure your house has adequate locks and alarm systems. When you need something bigger though, call Western Eagle Security and sit down with us.