Case Studies

World Youth Day Security

World Youth Day (WYD) is the largest youth event in the world and was held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July 2008. The event attracted 223,000 registered pilgrims, including 110,000 from 170 nations making it the largest event ever hosted in Australia.

In a further demonstration of SNP Security’s expertise in mass gathering event security, it recently played an integral role in assisting with the security of pilgrims and the general public across Sydney during World Youth Day, the largest event ever hosted in Australia. SNP Security was chosen to provide security for WYD due to its substantial portfolio and proven track record in large scale events such as the Olympic Torch Relay and Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

The Challenge
The pilgrims made extensive use of the public transport system, with special services and massive crowds anticipated throughout the CBD – in particular the railway stations. 15 Railcorp sites required security services, including the major CBD stations of Central, Town Hall and Circular Quay. SNP Security Officers were also deployed to schools and commercial sites.

Preparations
Three months prior to the commencement of World Youth Day, SNP security fomed a special Project Team to ensure the operation went smoothly. The SNP project Team liaised with the Railcorp Security Division to develop a security strategy to minimise any risk.  Items covered in the preparations included policies and procedures, safety and induction, and the use of equipment.

During the event
SNP had 510 trained and accredited Security officers available at every railway station throughout the city to support the 223,000 pilgrims who made use of public transport throughout the World Youth Day period. SNP officers committed in excess of 20,000 hours over the 9 day period.

SNP General Manager of Protective Services, Kevan Peters, says it was a wonderful challenge to be part of such a major historic event.

“Due to road closures and traffic congestion in the Sydney CBD, supervisors’ used bicycles to get around to provide visual reports and security status reports,” says Kevan. “Clocking over 20 kilometres per day, it was the best way to supervise different sites and manage large numbers of guards. Using bikes in the Sydney CBD was reminiscent of the earliest days of SNP, but the modern use of bikes in this way was a first, not only for us, but also for Australian events in general.”

An event report was emailed to Railcorp twice daily, covering any activity from the previous 12 hours. This enabled identification of any issues, and immediate corrective action to be taken.

An SNP Security Officer was also responsible for stopping an intruder to a school in which pilgrims were staying, until the police could be called to the scene.

For more information:
Kevan Peters, General Manager – Protective Services
Email. kpeters@snpsecurity.com.au