Security experts say organizers of festivals and other large events in Hawaiʻi need to tighten security to keep crowds safe, and that's something that can have extensive financial consequences.
Organizers of large events in Hawaiʻi have typically kept their security operations to a minimum, but experts say modern crowd management needs more than that to keep people safe.
Like physical barricades, fenced access points and dedicated enforcement. And that drives up costs.
Lokahi Cuban is the owner of Defense Security Alliance. He said complacency is the biggest mistake local organizers make.
Cuban said for some events, like next weekend's FijiFest at the Aloha Stadium parking lot, he's implementing strict measures like clear-bag policies and 100% scanning with security wands.
Yet security experts said planning like that is scarce in Hawaiʻi because of costs. Security consultant Ed Howard said promoters will sometimes push back when professionals say they need a minimum number of security guards, or even Honolulu Police Department special-duty officers, who bill more than $50 an hour.
It's not just promoters who need to pay for security. The Hawaiʻi Restaurant Association's Sheryl Matsuoka said security expenses directly impact the food-and-beverage vendors at street festivals and block parties. She said it can cost them $70 an hour or more for security. That boosts the costs for a food truck even before it turns on the first burner.
Matsuoka said beyond the cost, festival organizers have a kuleana to protect staff who are working long shifts at crowded events. While security is usually focused on the attendees, she said good security planning protects everyone, including the people serving the food.
