Crowd Panic: Causes & Ways To Tackle It

Crowd panic is a real problem and can occur due to a variety of reasons. However, there are effective ways that can be used for tackling crowd panic and preventing it altogether.

Panic is regarded by many as a problematic issue associated with crowds that generally tends to be very disruptive. While faced with a pandemoniacal situation, it is very important to have a sound idea about the potential risks of mobs. Moreover, one must also know of different crowd management problems that can occur at large gatherings.

The foremost step towards keeping crowd panic from occurring is being acquainted with its primary causes. These main triggers include the following:

• Conflicts — A small fight that turns into a violent conflict can cause insecurity inside a particular space within the environment.
• Fires — Fire is another deadly trigger for crowd panic, as escape procedures are sometimes ambiguous or not very easy to follow.
• Violence — When feelings of rage or anger overpower a crowd, violence becomes the foreseeable outcome.
• Fear — Fear within a large gathering arising from emotions can result in dangerous consequences, even causing death at times.
• Congestion — Panic may also occur due to spatial limitation, making people rush towards the exit and even trample others on their way out.

Most of these causes are generally the outcomes of improper supervision as well as poor preparation. In order to combat them all, having a strong and effective strategy for ensuring security of everyone is extremely important.

The key towards prevention of crowd panic is implementation of strategic countermeasures. If the number of in-house security administrators is not enough, an individual or organisation must hire external help such as professional crowd control services in Brisbane. Besides that, layout is also a critical factor to be taken into account. Facility design plays a vital role, so far crowd management is concerned. Each and every possible exit must be dimensioned adequately for people to egress safely.

The most critical impact of crowd panic on the environment is structural composition. Every facility can accommodate only as much people as allowed by its capacity. Exceeding the maximum strength can pose great danger to everyone. It may cause frustration and discomfort, which can ultimately trigger panic. Therefore, never should any building provide access to more people than can be comfortably accommodated within.

Properly educating and training security officials appointed for controlling a panicked crowd is very important. After all, they are the ones who would be supervising the people and stay on the lookout for any violation of decorum. Therefore, they should know how to prevent panic and problematic situations from occurring so that the event can proceed without any disturbance.