NPSA and SGSA issue joint guidance on vehicle security barriers

Vehicle security barriers are an integral part of HVM measures in the vicinity of event venues. HVM is a protective security discipline focusing on reducing risks associated with vehicle borne threats posed by terrorists and criminals. The guidance addresses a critical gap in understanding how vehicle security barriers impact pedestrian flow and safety.

Sports grounds guidance emphasises that security measures should not compromise ingress, egress, accessibility or crowd circulation, yet there was previously limited practical guidance on achieving this balance. The guidance draws on extensive research involving observations at 16 events across eight UK venues, with tens of thousands of data points collected to assess crowd movement through bollard arrays.

Event venues face the challenge of providing appropriate physical protection, while maintaining safe pedestrian movement and accessibility for all users. Poor vehicle security barrier placement can create bottlenecks, increase crowd density to dangerous levels and, potentially, introduce new hazards rather than reducing them.

The guidance provides evidence-based recommendations to help venue operators adopt an holistic approach that balances security needs with crowd safety requirements.

*Access the guidance at https://www.npsa.gov.uk/specialised-guidance/hostile-vehicle-mitigation-hvm/vehicle-security-barriers-event-venues or

https://sgsa.org.uk/document/vehicle-security-barriers-at-event-venues/