How many security staff an event needs

What the official guidance says about ratios

The guidance we checked does not set a fixed number of security staff per attendee.

• The Health and Safety Executive's guidance on managing crowds focuses on assessing risk, defining roles and monitoring the crowd. It gives no staffing ratio.
• The Purple Guide, the industry guide to health, safety and welfare at outdoor events, covers crowd management and safety capacity. Its detailed chapters are available by subscription, and we have not quoted any figure from it here.
• The City of Edinburgh Council's guidance for event organisers sets no numbers. It asks for a plan showing steward positions and types (supervisor, SIA licensed or steward), roles, command and control, and zoning.
• SIA guidance for security suppliers gives no ratios and advises checking that the number of staff agreed matches the number on site.

Ratios quoted online without a source should be treated with caution. The number that matters is the one your risk assessment supports and your council, licensing board and safety advisers accept.

The crowd factors that set the number

HSE's guidance on assessing crowd safety risks lists the factors to work through. Each one affects how many people you need and where they stand:

• Expected attendanceBased on previous figures, similar events, advance sales and publicity, with allowance for weather and transport problems.
• Safe capacityFor the whole site and for each zone.
• Audience profileAge range, alcohol and drug use, and the chance of people becoming aggressive if things go wrong.
• Site layoutWhether people can arrive, move around and leave without crossflow.
• Entrances and exitsHow many, how wide, and whether queues could surge when doors open.
• Crowd behaviourClimbing on structures, sudden changes of direction, rushing the stage.
• Other hazardsVehicles in pedestrian areas, poor lighting, ground conditions and stalls that block routes.

Counting roles, not heads

Work out staff numbers position by position, then add them up. Typical positions are:

• Entry points: ticket or wristband checks, search lanes and a supervisor at each gate.
• Bars: door supervisors where alcohol is sold under a licence.
• Front of stage barrier, if there is a stage.
• Patrols through the crowd and around the perimeter.
• Exits and emergency routes, kept clear for the whole event.
• Backstage, artist or VIP areas.
• A response team that can move to an incident without leaving another post empty.
• Event control and radio controllers.
• Supervisors, so each team has someone in charge.
• Breaks. Every post that must stay filled needs relief cover.

Which roles need SIA licensed staff

GOV.UK guidance says the activity decides whether a licence is needed, not the job title. Stewarding, such as directing people to seats, toilets or first aid, does not need a licence. Checking tickets does not need a licence, but refusing entry or making someone leave does.

Searching people or property to keep out prohibited items, patrolling a perimeter to prevent unauthorised entry, and guarding a licensed bar area while alcohol is available are licensable. SIA guidance notes that using staff licensed for several roles can reduce the number of licensed people needed without compromising safety.

Peaks, timings and shifts

Staff numbers usually change through the day. Plan for each phase:

• Build and setup,when the site needs guarding against theft and trespass.
• Ingress,usually the busiest time for entry and search teams.
• Peak attendance,when crowd monitoring and patrols matter most. HSE notes that staff patrolling within the crowd "can experience conditions at first hand".
• Egress,when everyone leaves at once and exits, car parks and transport points need cover.
• Overnight,for multi-day events with infrastructure left on site.

Licence conditions and Martyn's Law

Check every licence for the event. Occasional licences, premises licences and public entertainment licences can include conditions on security. The City of Edinburgh Licensing Board's policy, for example, says occasional licence applicants must show adequate provision for the licensing objectives, which "might include supervisors at entrance and exit points".

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn's Law, applies across the UK. It sets tiers by expected attendance: standard tier premises for 200 to 799 people and enhanced tier premises and qualifying events for 800 or more. It requires procedures and, for the enhanced tier, measures, but it does not set security staff numbers. The Home Office has said there will be at least 24 months between Royal Assent on 3rd April 2025 and the Act coming into force.

A method for working out your number

1. Confirm the safe capacity of the site and each zone.
2. Complete the crowd risk assessment using the HSE factors.
3. Mark every position on the site plan for each phase of the event.
4. Decide which positions need SIA licensed staff and which can be stewards.
5. Add supervisors, control, a response team and relief for breaks.
6. Check the total against licence conditions and council requirements.
7. Walk the site with your security provider and adjust.
8. Review after each day of a multi-day event.

Learn about On Guard Security

Staff numbers are easier to get right when they are worked out on site. On Guard Security works out event staffing on a site walk, looking at the layout, entry and exit points, how people move and where pressure builds, and sets the result out in a written security plan. For Kirkcaldy Links Market 2026 that meant more than 30 staff across managers, radio controllers, site supervisors, spotters, patrol staff and response teams, over six days and more than 350,000 visitors. The event ran without major incidents.

Get in touch with your event dates, site and expected attendance, and we will learn about your requirements, then provide a tailored quotation and security plan. See event security in Edinburgh and event security in Glasgow for details, or our guide to SIA door staff for a party for smaller private events. Christmas market organisers can also see our page on Christmas market security in Scotland, and screening options are on our P1 knife arch hire page.