Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies

Mick Upton  
Bucks New University
Part Time Visiting Lecturer, Head of Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies 2003-7

Following military service in the fifties, Mick began working as a close protection bodyguard for a wide range of VIP clients. During the mid sixties he began to specialise in celebrity protection when he accepted work with the Beatles and then the Rolling Stones. Subsequently, as Head of Security at Artistes Services Ltd he worked with celebrity clients that ranged from ABBA to Led Zeppelin. From 1974 on he took a keen interest in crowd safety management at events following the death of a young woman at a David Cassidy concert at which he was working.

In 1982 Mick formed ShowSec International Ltd, a company that specialised in celebrity protection and event crowd management at international level. He also took a keen interest in the design and delivery of training for the private security industry. This led to him acting as a consultant to Bramshill Police Staff College and he moved on to design and deliver crowd safety training for U.K police services, local authorities and foreign agencies. He has also acted as consultant to UK official published guidance on concert event crowd management. In addition he has served on government sponsored Lead Bodies set up to introduce NVQ qualifications for events, door supervisors and VIP protection.

Mick Upton is the recipient of numerous awards recognising his contribution to crowd safety management. Following his retirement from ShowSec in 2000, he worked with Chris Kemp and Iain Hill on the development of the first ever Foundation Degree course at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College (now Buckinghamshire New University). In 2005 Mick was awarded a Doctorate for his work and he was appointed as the first Head of the Centre for Crowd Management & Security Studies at BNU. He retired from that position in December 2007.

Mark Hamilton  
Group 4 Securicor
Managing Director G4S Events
Bucks New University
Head of Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies 2007 - Present

Mark has been involved in the security and crowd safety management industry since 1973 and founded Rock Steady Security in 1980, which became the UK’s most successful event security and crowd management company before its acquisition In March 2008 by Group 4 Securicor (G4S). Mark is now the Managing Director of the newly combined G4S Events business employing over 4,200 personnel providing security, safety, crowd management and training throughout the UK and world-wide.

Under Mark’s direction, Rock Steady became a market innovator by leading the way in developing improved standards of training and service delivery across the sector.

Mark has commanded many major security and crowd management operations, including the Live 8 events in London and Edinburgh, and continues to be actively involved at a strategic, tactical and operational level at events such as T in the Park, V Festival and Download.

As a Security Advisor and ‘on the road’ Tour Security Director for MPL Communications Ltd and Inc.; Mark has for the past 18 years taken responsibility for all security related issues on behalf of Sir Paul McCartney and he has also toured with many artists and is retained as a security advisor to a diverse number of organizations, business leaders, personalities and celebrities.

During the development of UK national standards, Mark was a committee member of various groups advising on the implementation of British Standards and National Vocational Qualifications in spectator management. He is keenly involved in the development of training and education in the crowd management and event security sector; is currently a Policy Board member and part time Lecturer for the Faculty of Enterprise and Innovation, and the Head of the Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies at Buckinghamshire New University.

Mark continues to take a lead role in the training of his own company’s employees and is accredited to teach a range of sector skills including Conflict Management, Physical Intervention and Protective Services. In addition he graduated in 2005 as the Most Outstanding Student from the first cohort of the Foundation Degree in Crowd Safety Management and is currently studying on a Masters programme for Leadership and Management.

Mark holds a UK national security license in Close Protection; and on a more personal note is a Police Officer for the City of Gretna, Louisiana, USA; and closer to home as a High Constable of the Port of Leith, Scotland.

Prof. Chris Kemp  
Bucks New University
Executive Dean of Faculty Enterprise & Innovation

Professor Chris Kemp studied Human Movement, Sport, Recreation Management and Contemporary Dance at St John's PE College in York, and was awarded an MA in Arts Administration at the City University in London. The subject of his PhD, awarded by the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, was Towards a Holistic Interpretation of Musical Genre Classification; it focuses on punk and hardcore, and examines the links between management, musicology, audience perception and the media in the development of musical nomenclature.

Chris has worked as Artistic Director of Rococo Dance Company, and has managed a number of venues including the Pitz music club and the Clock Inn comedy club. Over a ten-year period he promoted over 3000 events and acts including Blur, Iron Maiden, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and London Contemporary Dance Company.

Chris joined Buckinghamshire New University in 1993, and is now Executive Dean of the Faculty of Enterprise & Innovation. He takes an active role in researching concert promotions with a view to making concerts safer.

Contact Details:
e: chris.kemp@bucks.ac.uk
t: 01494 605162

Patrick Jordan  
MOJO Barriers
Managing Director

Began working at a theatre lighting firm in 1986, first 3 years on the road as lighting technician and then 4 years as field engineer.

Started to work for Mojo Barriers in 1993, under John Mulder, being responsible for the worldwide operations of their barrier rentals and filling in as promoter-rep for Mojo Concerts in Holland.

Since 1993 helped to grow the company from 1 employee to 20 employees, opening and managing offices in London and Lancaster (USA).

Has been involved with Bucks New University since 2004 on several on the 'crowd management' projects.

Andrew Murphy  
EventSec
Managing Director

Andrew (Andy) has worked on Crowd Management teams at events since 1992. His work has brought him to countless venues throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe. In 1993, Andy worked at the National Police Staff Training College, Bramshill, Hampshire and was part of the development team that designed a training module for disaster management at public events. This training module was delivered to Police Chief Inspectors from throughout the UK and abroad. In 1995, Andy completed a thesis on Crowd Management in the Modern Football Stadium. Returning to Northern Ireland in 1996, Andy was soon contracted by a number of football clubs to act as a Security Advisor. Subsequently, he formed Eventsec and has provided advice, training and staff to large scale public and private events.

Andy is regularly invited to work as a consultant at many events, throughout Ireland and Europe. His experience has been utilised at many massive events. In 2002, he was contracted to act as Chief Steward at the 17th Commonwealth Games Manchester 2002. Andy has acted as Crowd Security Manager at many large scale events with audiences in access of 100,000 persons.

As well as acting as Chief Steward at countless events throughout the UK and Ireland, Andy has also acted as Safety Officer at a number of major events. He is presently completing a Masters Degree in Leadership.

Tony Ball  
Show & Events
Managing Director and Chairman

In 1984 Tony started work for Showsec International as a part time security officer whilst still serving in the army. On leaving the army in 1988 he applied and successfully gained a full time position with the company.

During his time with Showsec International he undertook training at the company’s training school in Event Safety Stewarding, Team Leadership and Team Supervision. He was promoted to Senior Operations Manager were he worked closely with the company Chairman Mick Upton undertaking special responsibility for crowd management on a wide range of events.

In 1992 he was appointed Operations Director where he had sole responsibility for the planning of crowd safety at major events. During this period he was responsible for managing mass crowd attendances at Milton Keynes, Roundhay Park Leeds, and Knebworth and Aintree Race course in Liverpool with a capacity of 150,000 people. During this period he was responsible for crowd safety planning for high profile artists such as Michael Jackson’s European Tour, and concert events worldwide.

In 1998 he started a new company Show & Event Security which quickly developed into a leading market player in the crowd management of outdoor events. Since trading, the company has been responsible for the V Festivals, Party in the Park, The Golden Jubilee event in London and The Queens Concerts at Buckingham Palace.

The success of Show & Event Security is reflected by the fact that the company has been involved in a very wide range of events held within the United Kingdom. Throughout his career he has been responsible for designing and implementing crowd safety plans and planning for attendances that range from 2,000 to 2 million people. Throughout these events he has developed close working relationship with the police and local authorities.

Tony currently holds a Foundation Degree in Crowd and Safety Management with an NVQ Level 5 qualification in work based learning in Higher Education, gained at Buckinghamshire New University. He is presently studying for his Masters degree.