Reno and Sparks are no strangers to large crowds at their special events. Hot August Nights, The Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off, Street Vibrations, and the Italian Festival are just a few of them. Each one requires a different element of safety. Reno's Special Event Committee reviews more than 230 event permits, each year.
"We all review all of the permits and our number one concern is public safety, the safety of those attending the event and the safety of those outside of the event," Alexis Hill, Arts, Culture and Events Manager for the City of Reno said.
Making the events safe often requires street closures, in order to keep traffic out of the way and protect the high density of pedestrians. Barriers were set up July 3, when a man attempted to drive through a barricade at the Biggest Little Wing Fest. He was shot and killed by police officers.
The Wing Fest showed the importance of that extra precaution to keep vehicles away from pedestrian traffic," Lt. Robert Larson, Reno Police Department said. "The incident didn't come from the event but it came from outside the event. The key is to have the officer presence in the event to protect the citizens in case something from out of the event comes in."
Access has gotten more difficult. A Homeland Security grant paid for bollards, a few years after the September 11 attacks, in 2001. Those are concrete and steel posts, designed to stop vehicles.
"We will start to use them more and that's what you see at the ends of Virginia Street," Larson said. "They go into the ground and they're vehicle rated."
The amount of officers needed depends on the size of the event and the amount of people in attendance, among many other factors.
"Determining the staff is a very difficult task to do," Larson said. "We take into account the type of the event, what type of media it's getting, what's trending on social media, and if there's alcohol involved. So, then we take those four factors and kind of determine what our police force needs to keep the citizens safe while they're enjoying the event."
The amount of special events has been growing steadily since the 1990s. The municipal code was written for special events in 2005, and has evolved over time, with some changes still being made.
"To make sure that we're on the cutting edge of making sure that our events are safe and the best events to attend in the world," Hill said. "That's our whole goal."
The biggest events in Sparks are the Rib Cook-off and Hot August Nights. While Victorian is closed for traffic, they use soft barriers instead of bollards. Officer Ken Gallop says the majority of the Sparks Police Department is on duty for those events, with many working overtime. Officers are on foot, bicycles, and horses, trying to keep the public safe.
