06-10-2008, 03:49 AM
Big Music Fest a big challenge for local police
Concert expected to draw at least 15,000 to Zwicks Park
By Jeremy Ashley
Belleville Intelligencer
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It’s going to be a hot, busy summer for the ranks of the Belleville police department.
From this month’s massive, 15,000-ticket Tragically Hip concert at Zwicks Park to the second edition of Quinte Ribfest at the end of August, city officers will be called upon to provide services for no less than seven major community events planned for the summer months.
Hand’s down, the season’s biggest challenge will come at the end of this month with the inaugural edition of the Big Music Fest at Zwicks
“This is going to be an entirely different event — just ensuring that 15,000 people can move out of an area safely all at once is something we’ve never had to deal with before,” said Insp. Paul Vandegraaf.
The event is touted as one of the largest single events in the history of the Quinte area with more than 15,000 tickets sold to date for the day-long show on June 21, which features the likes of the Tragically Hip, Sarah Harmer, and the Sam Roberts Band.
The stage is expected to be placed facing southeast at East Zwicks Island Park near the Quinte Dog Park and limited parking is planned for West Zwicks park with a shuttle running from the Quinte Exhibition Fairgrounds parking lot.
Dubbed an all-ages event, Big Music Fest will have a licenced area that holds up to 3,500 people.
For the law enforcement agency, the Hip concert embodies a new approach to policing — having those behind the event pony up the cash upfront for portion of the policing costs.
For instance, in addition to the platoons of officers on hand — from members of the Criminal Investigations Branch to the full tactical team — at least a dozen officers will be paid for out-of-pocket by concert organizers. In addition to foot and cruiser patrols, city police officers will be riding motorcycles and mountain bikes through the area.
“For the first time in a long time we will be blending officers who have been assigned to cover the event with ‘paid-duty’ officers who will have been hired by the organizers.
“From my perspective, it’s very encouraging to see that they (organizers) recognize that whenever you hold an event of this magnitude, there is a policing cost attached to it.”
While Belleville Police will have some help from neighbouring police departments —
there will be members of the Stirling-Rawdon Police Service and the OPP’s Snowmobile All-terrain Vehicle Enforcement team on hand — Belleville police will take on the event largely on its own.
“Fortunately and unfortunately, our neighbours are just as busy as us,” he said.
For instance, the annual Ride for Sight motorcycle rally is being held in Quinte West the same weekend and the current situation in Deseronto with native protesters is tying up resources from provincial and Tyendinaga police agencies.
Aside from managing the flow of people throughout the night, for weeks police have been preparing an array of strategies to address specific problems — from the access of handicapped people to ensuring there are routes for emergency vehicles into the site, if need be.
Police have also sought advice from the Kingston Police Service in how to deal effectively with large crowds, a service that grapples each September with the homecoming week melee of Queen’s University students.
“When we look at this type of event, we’re simply trying to establish a contingency plan for every single scenario we can think of because there’s never been anything like this before,” Vandegraaf said.
“If you ask me, I think the biggest issue will be pedestrian movement. Just to have that many people at one venue and leaving all at one time presents a number of challenges.”
Big Music Fest may be the biggest venue of the summer, but other events such as Quinte Ribfest will also keep police busy.
The numerous festivals and events this summer will “just keep pulling at the strings” of policing resources, presenting scheduling challenges to keep any overtime costs as low as possible, Vandegraaf said.
“This is something that police services clear across the province are struggling with,” said Vandegraaf, who manages staffing resources for Belleville police.
“It’s going to be quite a juggling act dealing with some of the challenges those events represent.”
Currently, the department has an active roster of upward of 85 sworn officer and about a dozen auxiliary members — a group that is sure to be stretched thin at times during a season which typically holds an increase in the number of calls for service received.
“These are all fantastic community events, but when you take a step back and look at the summer there will be a strain put on our staffing resources,” Vandegraaf said.
In the same breath, Vandegraaf applauded the efforts of city departments, who he said have worked together seamlessly to ensure all events, including the Big Music Fest, are held with the safety of the public in mind.
“Some weeks have gone by there I’ve seen Larry Glover (the city’s park manager) more than my wife,” he said with a chuckle.
“And looking at this community, if things keep progressing the way I believe they will over the next couple of years, we’re going to have to develop a policing service delivery strategy.
“It’s fantastic that we live in a community which can play host to such events — I see all of these venues as great events for the Quinte region, we just have to make sure to do our part in making sure it stays safe and people have a good time.”
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:jashley@intelligencer.ca">jashley@intelligencer.ca</a><!-- e -->
Concert expected to draw at least 15,000 to Zwicks Park
By Jeremy Ashley
Belleville Intelligencer
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1065926&auth=By+Jeremy+Ashley">http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisp ... emy+Ashley</a><!-- m -->
It’s going to be a hot, busy summer for the ranks of the Belleville police department.
From this month’s massive, 15,000-ticket Tragically Hip concert at Zwicks Park to the second edition of Quinte Ribfest at the end of August, city officers will be called upon to provide services for no less than seven major community events planned for the summer months.
Hand’s down, the season’s biggest challenge will come at the end of this month with the inaugural edition of the Big Music Fest at Zwicks
“This is going to be an entirely different event — just ensuring that 15,000 people can move out of an area safely all at once is something we’ve never had to deal with before,” said Insp. Paul Vandegraaf.
The event is touted as one of the largest single events in the history of the Quinte area with more than 15,000 tickets sold to date for the day-long show on June 21, which features the likes of the Tragically Hip, Sarah Harmer, and the Sam Roberts Band.
The stage is expected to be placed facing southeast at East Zwicks Island Park near the Quinte Dog Park and limited parking is planned for West Zwicks park with a shuttle running from the Quinte Exhibition Fairgrounds parking lot.
Dubbed an all-ages event, Big Music Fest will have a licenced area that holds up to 3,500 people.
For the law enforcement agency, the Hip concert embodies a new approach to policing — having those behind the event pony up the cash upfront for portion of the policing costs.
For instance, in addition to the platoons of officers on hand — from members of the Criminal Investigations Branch to the full tactical team — at least a dozen officers will be paid for out-of-pocket by concert organizers. In addition to foot and cruiser patrols, city police officers will be riding motorcycles and mountain bikes through the area.
“For the first time in a long time we will be blending officers who have been assigned to cover the event with ‘paid-duty’ officers who will have been hired by the organizers.
“From my perspective, it’s very encouraging to see that they (organizers) recognize that whenever you hold an event of this magnitude, there is a policing cost attached to it.”
While Belleville Police will have some help from neighbouring police departments —
there will be members of the Stirling-Rawdon Police Service and the OPP’s Snowmobile All-terrain Vehicle Enforcement team on hand — Belleville police will take on the event largely on its own.
“Fortunately and unfortunately, our neighbours are just as busy as us,” he said.
For instance, the annual Ride for Sight motorcycle rally is being held in Quinte West the same weekend and the current situation in Deseronto with native protesters is tying up resources from provincial and Tyendinaga police agencies.
Aside from managing the flow of people throughout the night, for weeks police have been preparing an array of strategies to address specific problems — from the access of handicapped people to ensuring there are routes for emergency vehicles into the site, if need be.
Police have also sought advice from the Kingston Police Service in how to deal effectively with large crowds, a service that grapples each September with the homecoming week melee of Queen’s University students.
“When we look at this type of event, we’re simply trying to establish a contingency plan for every single scenario we can think of because there’s never been anything like this before,” Vandegraaf said.
“If you ask me, I think the biggest issue will be pedestrian movement. Just to have that many people at one venue and leaving all at one time presents a number of challenges.”
Big Music Fest may be the biggest venue of the summer, but other events such as Quinte Ribfest will also keep police busy.
The numerous festivals and events this summer will “just keep pulling at the strings” of policing resources, presenting scheduling challenges to keep any overtime costs as low as possible, Vandegraaf said.
“This is something that police services clear across the province are struggling with,” said Vandegraaf, who manages staffing resources for Belleville police.
“It’s going to be quite a juggling act dealing with some of the challenges those events represent.”
Currently, the department has an active roster of upward of 85 sworn officer and about a dozen auxiliary members — a group that is sure to be stretched thin at times during a season which typically holds an increase in the number of calls for service received.
“These are all fantastic community events, but when you take a step back and look at the summer there will be a strain put on our staffing resources,” Vandegraaf said.
In the same breath, Vandegraaf applauded the efforts of city departments, who he said have worked together seamlessly to ensure all events, including the Big Music Fest, are held with the safety of the public in mind.
“Some weeks have gone by there I’ve seen Larry Glover (the city’s park manager) more than my wife,” he said with a chuckle.
“And looking at this community, if things keep progressing the way I believe they will over the next couple of years, we’re going to have to develop a policing service delivery strategy.
“It’s fantastic that we live in a community which can play host to such events — I see all of these venues as great events for the Quinte region, we just have to make sure to do our part in making sure it stays safe and people have a good time.”
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:jashley@intelligencer.ca">jashley@intelligencer.ca</a><!-- e -->