Safety Advisory Group
The City of York Event Safety Advisory Group (SAG) provide advice and guidance regarding event safety to enable events to go ahead successfully in York.
The SAG is a multi-agency group including members from North Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and various representatives from City of York Council departments including Highways and Licensing.
Find out about:
- event safety information for organisers
- counter terrorism and events
- security planning
- protecting your event from terrorism
Event safety information for organisers
The SAG promote and encourage high standards of public safety and wellbeing at events held in York.
The SAG have produced the *Event Management Plan Template and Guidance for event organisers which must be read in addition to any legal requirements and government guidance. As part of your planning, we ask that you also refer to The Purple Guide for more advice.
*This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology; request an accessible format.
Counter terrorism and events
City of York Council, North Yorkshire Police and the Counter Terrorism Police North East are working together to provide event organisers with advice and support on how to counter the threat of terrorism when planning an event in the City of York.
The threat from terrorism is real and increasingly unpredictable, with public spaces and crowded areas being an attractive target for a terrorist.
Check the current level from terrorism in the UK from MI5 Security Service.
You must consider what you can do to reduce your risk and mitigate against the impact of a terrorist attack; having effective planning in place can greatly reduce the likelihood of an attack.
Security planning
You may be familiar with putting together a plan for your event and will know how to address many of the requirements around safety, but you may not be so familiar with security issues and terrorism in particular.
SAG suggest you produce a security plan to address the terrorism threat for your event, taking into account 'attack methodology' and your vulnerabilities.
Key issues your security plan should include (this is not an exhaustive list):
- before the event: how will you advertise it, be careful not to give too much information out that might assist a terrorist in planning an attack - consider what can be included to deter this, we call this deterrence communications
- your site: starting from the approach, including the perimeter and inside where the event is taking place - what is the risk and what can you do to mitigate against it
- communications: 'comms' are key to managing any incident - are yours ‘fit for purpose; it’s not just about how you communicate with your staff but also the public
- staff and volunteer training: see free online training to raise awareness and empower your staff
The Safety Advisory Group strongly recommend planning for a terrorist incident and may ask you for details of your security plan when considering your application.
Protecting your event from terrorism
Read further information to protect your event from terrorism from: