Nick Dymond did research into theft from tents at outdoor music festivals, as part of his Crowd Safety Management Foundation Degree at Buckinghamshire New University. He’s the MD of Barry-based event security and stewarding contractors NDSS.
The overall perception of theft at outdoor music festivals may not be as bad as originally thought. For the individual victims, it appears they suffer an inconvenience rather than any serious concerns. This report also highlights the determination of persons to steal, and provides evidence of an increasing threat of gang-related incidents. The report also contravenes the general opinion that the majority of tent theft occurs during the first night at a festival. The more common
times being those when the headline acts are on-stage. Maybe with the introduction of free to use lockers within the campsites, theft from tents could easily be eliminated.
During 2008, reports of theft from the tents of persons attending many of the UK’s outdoor music festivals increased greatly compared to figures for previous years. Not only has this increase caused concern among promoters and people attending these events, more alarming are the techniques used to gain unlawful entry to access festival attendees’ belongings. Are line-ups ever to blame? Does the booking of particular acts attract a certain type of festival-goer who might fill their free time by looting vacated tents?
Not only is it upsetting for the victims of tent theft, as word spreads around a festival campsite, the whole atmosphere changes to one of unease. Disturbingly, it is thought an element of gang culture may also be starting to make an impression on the outdoor music festival industry. At Glastonbury Festival 2008, the introduction of gang related crime was witnessed by Avon and Somerset Police. Such are the rewards for these groups; it is now thought they travel around the country attending each festival. Realistically, how can you stop an organised gang, determined to steal, from attending your festival? Some may comment that people will stop stealing if the penalty is tough enough, or we cannot do anything about crime without attacking its root causes.
Quantitative data was therefore sought by way of separate questionnaires: for victims of tent theft; and security staff and stewards. All were centred on a Facebook page. Qualitative data was sought with the assistance of The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), in particular the Security Task Force created to address the issue of tent thefts and campsite crime at festivals.
One anonymous victim wrote: “Although the items stolen from me were not of a high value, it was still an inconvenience and annoyance not to mention it awakened my vulnerability and safety at this particular festival. I shall not be returning to this festival for many reasons, but being unsafe is one of the main reasons. So many other festivals are well run and have better security with more to offer in entertainment and hospitality”.
An open-ended question allowed all participants of the questionnaire to add any further comments. One suggested: “Increased security to prevent people breaking in the site, and more security patrols to stop or put off the planned thefts from people who have purchased tickets to get in and steal. An idea may be to use mobile CCTV and their operators to keep watch on large areas of tents.”
Although many festivals provide chargeable lockers for its attendee, these are often around the arena areas and not the campsites. Providing free to use, manned lockers positioned within the campsites, could eliminate the threat of theft of small, personal belongings.
