Hiring Event Security: How Many Guards You Need, What to Put in the Brief, and How to Map and Schedule Every Post

Security is the budget line organizers most want to cut and the one insurers, permits and your own sleep least allow. This fourth article in the How to Run Profitable Events series covers hiring event security in practical terms: how many guards you need, when to use licensed guards versus paid-duty police versus volunteers, what belongs in the security plan, and how to map every post and schedule every shift so the team you paid for is standing where the plan says. Security requirements are set by municipalities, venues, liquor authorities and insurers and vary by province; this is general guidance, not legal advice, and your permit conditions take precedence.

Key takeaways

• Guard numbers follow risk, not attendance alone: alcohol, an energetic audience, a dark site, cash on hand and a history of incidents all push the ratio up.
• Licensed security guards are a legal category in every province (Ontario's PSISA, BC's Security Services Act, Alberta's Security Services and Investigators Act and their counterparts); enforcement, searches and ejections are their job, not a volunteer's.
• The security plan is a document your permit, your insurer and your liquor licence may all ask for, and writing it is how you find the gaps.
• A post map and a shift schedule are the two artifacts that turn a headcount into coverage; without them, guards cluster at the main gate and the back fence is open.
• Incidents, ejections and medical calls need a log; it protects the event, satisfies the authorities and sets next year's plan.

Start with a risk assessment

Before you call a security company, rate the event on the factors that drive incidents:

• Crowd size and density, and whether it peaks (a headliner set, a fireworks finale, a single exit at close).
• Alcohol: licensed area versus site-wide, hours of service, whether it is the point of the event.
• Audience profile: a family food festival, a youth dance competition and a hardcore show have different needs.
• Site: fenced or open, single or multiple entries, lighting after dark, parking, water, stages near roads.
• Cash and assets: box office, vendor cash, merch, equipment overnight.
• History: last year's incident log, the venue's history, the neighbourhood.
• Special factors: a controversial act, a VIP, a rivalry between groups, a heat wave.

Write the rating down. It is the first section of the security plan and the justification for the numbers that follow.

How many security guards do you need?

There is no legal universal ratio in Canada, and permits often set one for you, but the working ranges most organizers and security companies use are:

• Low risk (daytime, no alcohol, family audience, fenced site): about one guard per 100 to 150 attendees, with a minimum of two so nobody works alone.
• Moderate risk (licensed area, evening, general-admission music): about one per 75 to 100.
• Higher risk (site-wide alcohol, high-energy audience, night, multiple stages): one per 50 to 75, plus dedicated supervisors.

Then add posts that exist regardless of ratio: every entry and exit gate, bag check, the licensed-area perimeter, stage barriers, the box office and cash room, first aid, lost and found, overnight for multi-day sites, and a roaming supervisor per shift. Count posts, multiply by shifts, and the number is usually higher than the ratio alone. Your municipality's special-event permit, the venue and your liquor licence may specify minimums that override all of this; read them first.

Guards, police and volunteers: who does what

Licensed security guards are trained and licensed under provincial legislation, carry identification and can perform searches with consent, refuse entry, remove people and detain in limited circumstances. They take enforcement posts: gates, bag check, licensed areas, barriers, ejections. Hire through a licensed security company that provides a supervisor, insurance, radios and a roster, and ask for guards with event experience rather than static-site experience.

Paid-duty police are booked through the local police service at an hourly rate and are sometimes required by the permit or the liquor licence for larger or higher-risk events, road closures and traffic control. They bring authority and response, not crowd management; plan on them for the gate at close, the road, and a visible presence rather than for bag checks.

Volunteers and event staff do wayfinding, ticket scanning, information, accessibility assistance and wristbanding. They should never be asked to search, refuse, eject or intervene physically; their instruction is to radio for a guard. Putting a volunteer in a yellow vest at a fence line is not security, and your insurer knows it.

Medical is a separate line: a first-aid provider or event medical service sized to the crowd, with a tent on the map and a radio channel, and an agreed protocol for when to call 911.

What goes in the security plan

The plan is a short document; five to ten pages is typical for a mid-size festival. Sections:

1. Event overview and risk assessment: dates, hours, attendance, site, the rating from above.

2. Command and contacts: who is in charge on site, the security supervisor, police liaison, medical lead, the organizer's phone tree, and the radio channel plan.

3. Posts and staffing: every post, its hours, how many guards, and the role of police and volunteers.

4. Access control: ticket and wristband checks, re-entry policy, credentials for staff, artists, vendors and media, vehicle access and passes.

5. Bag policy and search: what is prohibited, how searches are conducted (with consent, by licensed guards), signage at the gate, and what happens to confiscated items.

6. Alcohol: licensed-area boundaries, ID checks, cut-off times, refusing service and intoxication protocol.

7. Crowd management: capacity per area, barrier layout, stage-front procedure, egress at close, queue management at gates and bars.

8. Incident response: escalation steps, when to call police or medical, lost children, missing persons, harassment, medical emergencies, fights, weapons.

9. Weather and evacuation: triggers (lightning, wind, heat), shelter points, the announcement script, who decides.

10. Incident log: the form, who keeps it, and the daily debrief.

Your permit application, your insurer and your liquor licence will each ask for pieces of this; write it once and hand out sections.

Map every post

A headcount becomes coverage on a map. Mark on the site plan: each gate and exit with its hours, bag-check lanes, the licensed-area perimeter, stage barriers and pit access, the box office and cash room, first aid, lost and found, the security base and radio charging, patrol routes and their turnaround points, vehicle gates, emergency vehicle access lanes, shelter points and muster points, and the lighting towers you rented after reading the AV guide.

Share it with the security supervisor, police and medical before the briefing, and keep the operational layer off the public map: attendees need first aid and lost and found, not the cash room and the patrol routes. Eventist's festival map builder places all of this on the same map attendees use for stages and food, with operational markers flagged hidden from the public so staff see the security layout and the public see the amenities; markers can link to tasks and be marked done from the live map, so "barrier at Stage B set" is visible to the supervisor without a radio call.

Schedule shifts that match the day

Coverage has a shape: light at gates open, building through the afternoon, peak from the headliner to close, then egress, then overnight if the site holds equipment. A shift schedule that puts the same number on every post from noon to midnight either overspends the afternoon or starves the close. Build it in blocks:

• Set-up and vendor load-in: a small team for vehicle gates and equipment.
• Doors to mid-afternoon: gates and bag check fully staffed, barriers light.
• Peak: every post staffed, supervisors roaming, medical fully up.
• Close and egress: gates open outward, guards at the exits and the parking route, police visible.
• Overnight: a static team for equipment and vendors' stock.

Breaks are part of the schedule, not an afterthought; a guard on a nine-hour post without relief is a guard who is not watching. Eventist's staff scheduling gives each role its own dashboard with the shift schedule, the task list and the map, so the security supervisor, the volunteers and the medical team each see their own posts and times on their phones, and the read-only run-of-show shows the whole day's timeline beside them.

The briefing and the log

Brief every shift before it starts: the map, the plan's key sections, radio etiquette, the incident form, the medical location, the code words for lost children and evacuation, and the rule that volunteers radio and guards act. Keep an incident log through the event with time, location, what happened, who responded and the outcome; photograph what is safe to photograph. Debrief daily on a multi-day event and adjust the schedule for the next day. The log is what your insurer wants after a claim, what the municipality wants for next year's permit, and what tells you whether the ratio was right.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many security guards do I need for an event?

As a working range: one licensed guard per 100 to 150 attendees for low-risk daytime family events, one per 75 to 100 with a licensed area and an evening crowd, and one per 50 to 75 for site-wide alcohol, night and high-energy audiences, plus fixed posts at every gate, bag check, barrier, cash point and first-aid tent. Municipal permits, venues and liquor licences often set minimums that override these ranges.

Do event security guards need to be licensed in Canada?

Yes. Every province licenses security guards under legislation such as Ontario's Private Security and Investigative Services Act, BC's Security Services Act and Alberta's Security Services and Investigators Act. Hire through a licensed company, and reserve searches, refusals and ejections for licensed guards.

Should I hire police or private security for my event?

Both have roles. Licensed private security handles gates, bag checks, licensed areas, barriers and crowd management. Paid-duty police are booked through the local service for road closures, traffic control, a visible presence and response, and are sometimes required by the permit or the liquor licence for larger or higher-risk events.

What should an event security plan include?

A risk assessment, a command structure and contact tree, every post with hours and staffing, access control and credentials, the bag and search policy, alcohol procedures, crowd management and egress, incident response and escalation, weather and evacuation triggers, and an incident log. Permits, insurers and liquor licences each ask for parts of it.

How do I schedule and brief security staff?

Build shifts in blocks that follow the day's shape (load-in, doors, peak, close, overnight) with breaks included, map every post, and brief each shift on the map, the plan, radios and the incident form. Eventist gives each staff role a dashboard with the shift schedule, the task list and the operational map, and the run-of-show portal shows the day's timeline beside it.

The series

This is part four of How to Run Profitable Events. The rest of the series: grants and funding, vendors and sponsorship packages, setting up your own AV, event permits and booking performers. For the platform side, see festival ticketing software and the event check-in playbook.