Preventing Petty Theft on Music Festival Sites.

With many music festivals attracting large crowds of festival-goers they are prime targets for minor criminal activity, especially petty theft. Whilst not particularly damaging petty theft can be particularly annoying for the victims. What actions can festival organisers take to create a safe festival environment that minimises the occurrence of petty theft incidents which in turn improves the overall festival-goer experience.

The dense crowds experienced at a typical outdoor music festival are prime hunting grounds for undesirable individuals to perform petty theft. This presents challenges for a festival's operations where prevention and apprehending criminals can be difficult. If a festival experiences too many petty theft incidents it can also impact on their reputation. There can be a mixture of opportunistic theft and organised gangs who target vulnerable festival-goers, what steps can organisers take to counter theft incidents.

Common Theft.
The most common petty thefts occur in crowded environments, campsites and queues where festival-goers are exposed to pickpockets taking mobile devices, RFID wristbands, wallets, cash and bags, for example. Organised gangs often target campsites, breaking into tents and taking electronic devices, chargers and other valuables. These gangs also target unattended vendor stock and backstage equipment or even fuel from car parks. An emerging trend is the use of technology to scan or steal data from mobile devices or access RFID cashless payment wristbands where festival-goers may be unaware of the theft until it's too late.

Site Design Planning and Education.
Festival organisers can give more thought to their site design to eliminate petty theft opportunities during their events. Stronger, brighter nighttime lights can be used on campsites, toilet facilities, walkways, backstage zones and vendor service roads. Bright lighting is essential for CCTV operating in these target areas to function effectively during darkness. Crowd flow analysis can help make improvements in designing festival-goer movement logistics, which reduces crowd compression where pickpocketing incidents can increase. Backstage zones and vendor storage facilities should be located within secure areas with robust access control and security personnel in attendance. Camping zones can benefit from regular security patrols to discover suspicious behaviour and prevent theft from tents. Organisers can include an anti-theft education programme for festival-goers before they even get to a site. Messages, reminders and posts on social media should encourage them to bring minimal valuables and use proven anti-theft bags as well as fully explaining the common theft risks on a festival site.

Technology Assistance.
Improvements in the available technology for organisers can help to prevent petty theft on festival sites. Advancements in the use of AI assisted CCTV can now help to identify suspicious activity, rapid hand-to-hand passing of stolen items, and access control breaches. RFID wristbands that incorporate cashless payments now feature PIN protected purchases with identity verification like biometric scanning. If unusual behaviour is discovered or a wristband is reported stolen, it can be immediately deactivated to prevent purchase activity. Most mobile devices now come with enhanced security features including links to IMEI logging systems, and organisers frequently partner with lost property technology partners who operate other smart logging systems. A dedicated festival app also can be used to highlight theft hotspots, send safety reminders, and enable the real time reporting of any incidents.

Security and Staffing.
Festival staff and volunteers should receive training to help them identify potential petty theft activity and build awareness of high-risk scenarios that can include bag dipping behaviour, crowd distraction tactics and credential fraud. Organisers usually allocate security shifts to volunteers whose responsibilities can include theft prevention. High visibility patrols can focus on high-risk areas and act as a deterrence to potential theft activity. Organisers should also incorporate a theft reporting process in their planning, so any incidents of petty theft can be processed quickly and logged for further appropriate action.

Police Coordination.
Most festival organisers work closely with local police to ensure a safe and legally compliant site. Police offices are often present on a festival site with duties ranging from narcotic detection to detaining individuals involved in personal assault and theft. The police sometimes may obtain intelligence prior to an event that known organised theft gangs or serial offenders intend to be at a festival, this is shared with organisers, staff and volunteers to increase security vigilance. Incident reporting and logging systems plus any CCTV coverage needs to be kept by organisers for future use as evidence should a prosecution be made against a suspect. The police and organisers need to work together during the live event dates so that real time action can be taken for any theft incidents.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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