This is our old website - we are in the process of updating all the information on this site. For current information - check out our main site at
We used to run crowd safety and risk analysis courses around the world. Everything is now 100% online if we return to “normal” we will resume classroom teaching
Details of course content are listed on this link
Click here for information on our eLearning version of “Introduction to Crowd Science”
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If you are interested in a professional qualification in crowd safety and risk analysis and would like to book a place on any of our courses, please click here - email
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2020-2021 - all our courses moved on line via GKSed.com and zoom conferences/webinars
2020 Short courses, lectures and publications
Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic - all course are now delivered 100% online.
In short - 2020 classroom courses were cancelled…
…however, in 2020 we signed over 900 students on the elearning programmes.
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Sept 21st - 23th 2020 - Hyderabad, India (via zoom)
Police Training College
Public Event Commanders Course
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Sept 2020 - Breda University of Applied Science (new cohort)
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Jan 2020 - Breda University of Applied Science
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Holland 14th - 16th Jan 2020 (In Dutch)
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
For a short interview of Prof Still (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link
For a short overview of the course delegates work (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link.
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2019 Short courses, lectures and publications
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Galway, Ireland 27th November 2019
One day - Introduction to crowd science course
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Barcelona, 18th November 2019 - lecture (Eric Kant)
AIPC (International Association of Convention Centres)
Contact - Eric Kant, Phase01 Crowd Management
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13th November 2019
Campus Vesta (Police College, Belgium)
Public Event Commanders Course
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Holland 4th - 6th Nov 2019 (In Dutch)
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
For a short interview of Prof Still (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link
For a short overview of the course delegates work (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link.
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Nov 4th - 6th 2019 - Hyderabad, India
Police Training College
Public Event Commanders Course
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Sept 16th- 20th Edmonton, Canda
Introduction to Crowd Safety
and Risk Analysis Course
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7th - 9th Oct 2019 - UK, Portsmouth
Postponed due to adverse weather emergency response
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course.
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2nd October 2019
Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit (lecture)
Rising Brook Conference Centre,
Burton Square, Stafford ST17 9LT
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26th - 28th June 2019 - Parks and Leisure WA
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course.
Perth, Australia
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Reuters: Prof. Still in an article on Crowd Counting.
https://graphics.reuters.com/HONGKONG-EXTRADITION-PROTESTS/0100B01001H/index.html
https://graphics.reuters.com/HONGKONG-EXTRADITION-CROWDSIZE/0100B05W0BE/index.html
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Dublin Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
County Hall in Swords
11th - 13th April 2019
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Toronto, Canada 1st - 3rd April 2019
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23rd March 2019 - Prof. Still counts the crowds at the Brexit march.
Spolier - it wasn’t 1,000,000 (or 2,000,000 as some claimed)
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/brexit-march-peoples-vote-crowd-size
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20th March 2019 - IIRSM Crowd Risk Analysis
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19th March careers talk to Mathematrics/Statistics students.
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IOSH talk in Wales - 21st February 2019
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29th Jan 2019
https://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/news/case-studies/the-strange-case-of-james-charles-in-brum/
You have to go beyond your numbers, as Keith Still set out in his Introduction to Crowd Science (CRC Press, 2013). Are your crowd members old ladies, agile youths; happy, angry? To develop a ‘safe, robust crowd management plan’, as Still set out, you need to model your crowd; have some idea of how it will behave.
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2018 Short courses, lectures and publications
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https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/12/29/us/ap-us-times-square-crowd.html
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NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Seacrest and Anderson Cooper will be there. Snoop Dogg, too.
But 1 or 2 million people in New York’s Times Square for New Year’s Eve? As Snoop would say, you must be sippin’ on gin and juice.
Crowd-size experts scoff at those mammoth figures — floated annually by city officials and event organizers — saying it’s impossible to squeeze that many of even the skinniest revelers into such a relatively small space.
The real Times Square ball drop crowd likely has fewer than 100,000 people, crowd science professor G. Keith Still said.
Click on the graphic above, to take you to the article.
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Nov 12th - 13th 2018 - Hyderabad, India
Police Training College
Public Event Commanders Course
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Holland 29th - 31st Oct 2018
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
For a short interview of Prof Still (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link
For a short overview of the course delegates work (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link.
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October 20th GORS Annual Conference: London
Presentation on Crowd Risk Analysis
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10th October 2018 - IIRSM Crowd Risk Analysis
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MMU - Crowd Science Conference 12th Sept 2018
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Celtic Park - News Headlines (9th Sept 2018)
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/good-luck-prevented-celtic-fans-13213882?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
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20th - 22nd August - Toronto
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis (APEL) Course
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7th - 11th August
Home Office (Croydon)
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis (APEL) Course
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Jun 19th - Hyderabad, India
Police Training College
Public Event Commanders Course
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Lecturing at the The Analytics Summit 2018
12th June 2018, IET, Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL
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Dublin Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
County Hall in Swords
5th - 7th June 2018
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Article in the IIRSM Magazine (May/June) edition
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Public Order Commander - mandatory training in Crowd Science
Article in Police Oracle 21st May 2018
Professor Keith Still, Professor of Crowd Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, teamed up with the College of Policing last year to devise part of the new training programme.
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Cardiff. 8th - 11th May 2018
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Marcel Altenburg lecturing at the Economics and Law School
Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin (HWR)
4th May 2018
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Mythbusting - the million people crowds.
Article 17th April 2018
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Toronto - Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
9th - 11th April 2018
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Evening Lecture - 22nd March 2018
https://www.gmss.uk/events/venues/kings-arms/
CROWD SAFETY AND RISK ANALYSIS
Prof Keith Still provides some background to crowd risks, crowd counting and the “behind the scenes” story of the Trump inauguration crowd size, which gave rise to the phrase “alternative facts”.
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Prof. Still lecturing at the MMU
post graduates research conference
7th March 2018 - lecture at MMU.
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Eagles parade attendance: Close to 700,000, experts say https://lnkd.in/eqWg9Ai via @phillysport
In addition to Altenburg and Still, team members included Jim Aughney, Bert Bruyninckx, Benjamin Nigel Cowcill, Eric Kant, Ise Murphy, Jade Margaret Patel, and Mark Whitten — industry professionals with more than 100 years of event experience combined.
Well done everyone a great co-ordinated effort across 6 different countries.
http://www.philly.com/philly/super-bowl-lii/eagles-parade-attendance-crowd-estimate-philadelphia-super-bowl-20180208.html
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Marcel Altenburg (Crowd Science at MMU) features in Rolling Stone Magazine.
Click here for the article
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Leicester Police HQ 22nd - 24th Jan 2018
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Belgium, Antwerp 16th - 18th Jan 2018
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
For a short interview of Prof Still (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link
For a short overview of the course delegates work (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link.
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9th Jan 2018 - Article in Vanity Fair
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/01/the-mecca-stampede-that-made-history-hajj
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2017 Short courses, lectures and publications
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Scientific paper published in "Medicine, Science and the Law” April 2017
Acute forces required for fatal compression asphyxia: A biomechanical model and historical comparisons
Mark W Kroll, G Keith Still, Tom S Neuman, Michael A Graham and Lanny V Griffin
Conclusions
A biomechanical ribcage model predicts that an adult male requires at least 2550 +/- 250 N (260 +/- 26 kg) of static chest mass to cause flail chest. This is consistent with the records of judicial pressing. The model predicts that an adult male requires 4050 +/- 320 N of dynamic force to cause flail chest.
Click here for the pressure research page
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
14th, 15th and 16th Nov 2017 Dublin, Ireland.
Click here for further information _________________________________________________
Speaking at te 56th ICCA Congress in Prague (12th - 13th Nov)
Keith Still and Marcel Altenburg
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Nov 6th - Suffock - Fire Officers
One day Intorductionto Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
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November 2nd - Omnisport, Apeldoorn
CROWD COUNTING: Trends and possibilities - Experiences inauguration Donald Trump
Prof. Dr. Keith Still - Professor of Crowd Science, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Holland 30th October 2017 - Apeldoorn
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
For a short interview of Prof Still (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link
For a short overview of the course delegates work (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link.
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Thu 26th October 2017. 14:00 – 16:00 BST.
University of Suffolk, Waterfront Building, 19 Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ
In this session, Visiting Professor Keith Still and Chief Inspector Matthew Rose will discuss managing crowd risks.
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Thursday, 19th October, 2017 @ 7.30 pm
The Studio, The Forum, Barrow in Furness
Everybody welcome - Admission Free
For further details see Website www.bdae.org.uk
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Thursday, 19th October, 2017
Introducing Crowd Science
12:30-14:00UK
http://qube.cc/inspiration/
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Wednesday, 18th October 2017
Public Order Commanders (Police)
Crowd safety and Risk Analysis - course outline
Maidstone, Kent
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22nd Sept 2017
Capt. Marcel Altenburg
KTL Seoul, South Korea
Lecture on Crowd Science
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21st Sept 2017 - Rome
Capt. Marcel Altenburg - Lecture on Crowd Science
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20th September 2017 - Edinburgh
Ambassadors Dinner
Professor Keith Still
Crowd Science and Real-time analysis
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Berlin (delivered in German by Capt Marcel Altenburg)
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
6th - 8th Sept 2017
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Prof. Still and Marcel Altenburg
11th July - public lecture - Manchester
Click here for further information
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Prof. Still - Talking on the OR applications for Crowd Science
22nd June 2017 - MMU Business School
Tickets available on this link
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
New Zealand 8th - 9th - 10th May 2017
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Canada - Ottawa
18th April 2017
Evening Lecture - Crowd Science and Real-time analysis
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Canada - Ottawa
18th - 19th - 20th April 2017
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
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Canada - Calgary (police training college)
11th April 2017
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Lecture
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Canada - Calgary (police training college)
5th - 6th - 7th April 2017
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
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Austria - 30th March
Keynote talk at the conference.
Click here for details
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
27th - 28th - 29th March
Vienna, Austria
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21st March 2017
Prof. Still talking at the conference in Ghent
Crowd Risk Anlaysis - General introdution
and Real-Time Decision Support Analysis
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
15th - 16th - 17th March
Middlesbrough Council
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10th March 11:45-12:45
The Cobden Rooms, Manchester Central
Professor Keith Still and Marcel Altenburg
Manchester Metropolitan University
“How many people were at Trump’s inauguration?”
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Lecture Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis -
Suffolk University 2nd March
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21st Feb 2017 - G.36 Business School
Click here to register for a ticket
(book early - we are expecting a million, million and a half people in the lecture theatre G.36)
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XenoFractals and Heart Rate Variability:
Healthcare Science Research Seminar 2017
E412, 1-2pm on 15 Feb.
John Dalton Building
Oxford Road.Manchester
M1 5GD
My other research - www.XenoFractals.com
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
8th, 9th and 10th Feb 2017 Dublin, Ireland.
For detail, contact mark@cuckoo.ie
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The Big Kahuna
http://eventintelligencegroup.com/know-thing-crowd-scientist/
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https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/i-am-scholar-caught-trump-inauguration-crowd-controversy
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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/20/us/politics/trump-inauguration-crowd.html?_r=0
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/22/us/politics/womens-march-trump-crowd-estimates.html
More details on this link
http://www.gkstill.com/CV/Projects/Counting.html
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Article in the New York Times
Trump’s Inauguration vs. Obama’s: Comparing the Crowds
click here for the link
Below - view from the Podium (front 1/3rd is similar - all seated)
Below - view from the rear (back 2/3rds are empty.
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How many people will be at Donald Trump’s inauguration? Professor Keith Still and Marcel Alternburg answer - live for New York Times
Crowd scientists to provide rolling analysis from 3pm UK time (January 20)
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news-items/5037/
New York Time article link - click here
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Crowd Counting article (New York Times) - click here for the link
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Aritcle in the Washington Post (Jan 9th 2017)
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2016 Short courses, lectures and publications
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Talk at the Environmental Health AGM on Fri 2nd Dec at the
Roundthorn Country House Hotel, Beacon Edge, Penrith
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Prof. Still lecturing on “Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis at Major Events”
30th Nov 2016
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Holland 22nd - 24th November 2016
Stadion Galgenwaard, Herculesplein 241 - Utrecht
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
For a short interview of Prof Still (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link
For a short overview of the course delegates work (for ESI in Holland) - click on this link.
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Lecture - Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis for major events
Annual Conference - Birmingham - 11th October 2016
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Sept 12th - 16th 2016
First year induction week at
Manchester Metropolitan University
MSc in Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
9th - 11th August 2016
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Prof. Still confirmed as a keynote speaker at the
Security 2016 Conference & Exhibition. 20th - 22nd July
Programme details - here
Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia
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19th July 2016
Lecturing at Western Sydney University
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Melbourne Cricket Ground
Short course - Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
18th July 2016
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
13th - 15th July 2016 - Melbourne, Australia
Click here for course details
Click here for a press release
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Article in ManMetLife
https://manmetlife.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/helping-increase-crowd-safety-in-the-usa/
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Lecture at Melbourne University
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
11th July 2016
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Hong Kong - Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
18th - 23rd June 2016
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Lancaster - FGH - Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
13th - 15th June 2016
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
16th - 17th - 18th May 2016
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Edmonton, 9th - 10th - 11th May 2016
And 1/2 day workshop - details here
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Click here for course details
Ottowa 3rd - 4th - 5th May 2016
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Holland 29th - 31st March 2016
Stadion Galgenwaard, Herculesplein 241 - Utrecht
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
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Webinar - Monday 21st March 2016
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis (USA)
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BBC News (Live) on the escalator experiment in London - Maths and Psychology
Friday 11th March 2016 (7:50pm)
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Article in the Denver Post-Telegraph - crowd estimation
10th March 2016 One of the MSc students uses crowd science to assess crowd numbers at a major event
http://www.post-telegraph.com/news/experts-broncos-parade-estimate-3-5-times-too-high/
http://www.post-telegraph.com/news/a-look-at-methodology/
http://www.post-telegraph.com/news/through-the-transportation-lens/
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“Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis”
One day course
8th March - Antwerp, Belgium
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Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Courses
16th - 18th February 2016 and
21st - 23rd February 2016
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29th Jan 2016 - Utrecht, Holland
Signing a MOU with InControl - Pedestrian Dynamcs. Working together to develop a range of crowd risk analysis tools, teaching and training projects. We use the Pedstrian Dynamics crowd simulation system on the MSc programme at MMU.
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Jan 19th - 20th 2016 Bucks New University
Introduction to Crowd Science
BU510 Module - Foundation Degree - Level 5
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Fingal County Council
7th, 8th, 9th January 2016
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
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2015 Workshops, lectures and publications
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Dec 16th - 17th 2015 Bucks New University
Applied Crowd Science
SF610 Module - BA (Hons) - Level 6
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Dubai Mall, 6, 7, 8th December 2015
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis and
Crowd Modelling and Simulation Course
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Plymouth University - 24th November 2015
Events Management Lecture
Crowd Science and the MSc course at Manchester Metropolitan University.
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London - Institute of Mathematics - 21st November 2015
Lecture on the importance of mathematics for crowd safety in the Events Industry.
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Birmingham - Institute of Licensing
18th November 2015
Lecturing at the Institute of Licensing - National Training Conference 2015
Outdoor Evetns (Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis)
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Article in this months Health and Safety (about the book)
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10-11-12th November 2015. Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht. Holland
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Click here for courses content.
Click here for ESI and future courses in Holland.
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9th November 2015. Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht. Holland
Masterclass session
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Arup - 8 Fitzroy Street, London
October 9th 2015 - lecture on the importance of crowd safety
when developing crowd simulations.
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Hajj disaster articles - various (worldwide) TV, Radio and press interviews
http://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/after-billions-spent-on-safety-saudis-lost-control-of-crowd-pilgrims-say-road-was-blocked-police-deny/
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided
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Crowds article in the Philadelphia News - click here for link
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Institute of Environmental Health
Penrith (lecture/seminar)
25th September 2015
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22nd Sept 2015 - Article in the Washington Post
Click here to read the article
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Sept 14th - 18th 2015
First year induction week at
Manchester Metropolitan University
MSc in Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
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Sept 8th - 10th 2015 Redditch (UK)
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
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August 21st 2015 - Membership of the Expert Witness Institute
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Piece in the Philadelphia News about the forthcoming visit from the Pope.
Click here to read the full article
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June 2nd - 4th 2015 Wembley Stadium
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
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Australia - May - Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Queensland (Brisbane) 25th - 27th May 2015
New South Wales (Sydney) 18th - 20th May 2015
Western Australia (Perth) 6th - 8th May 2015
Victoria (Melbourne) 11th - 13th May 2015
Western Australia (Perth) 5th May 2015 (Perth Stadium Team - seminar)
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Apr 22nd - 23rd 2015 Chorley (UK)
Institute of Licensing “How to plan a safe event”
This is a short course for licensing officers
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13th April 2015 - Keynote talk at MMU
International Events Management: Future Perspectives ...
An insight into future trends in the live events industry.
Venue: C1.01 (Cavendish).
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Conference and Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Mar 30th - Apr 2nd 2015 The Phillips Stadium (Holland)
Frederiklaan 10a, 5616 NH Eindhoven. Click on this link for further information
Our partners in Holland and Belgium
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Mar 24th 2015 - Ghent. Manifestaties en evenementen - Crowd Risk Analysis lectures
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Mar 10th 2015 Inauguration lecture and Crowd Science conference
Click here for a link to the lecture video
Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
Mar 11th and 12th 2015 Manchester Metropolitan University
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Feb 25th - 26th 2015 Camden, London.
Institute of Licensing “How to plan a safe event”
This is a short course for licensing officers
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Feb 9th 2015 - Lectures to Events Students.
0900 - 1100 Geoffrey Manton Building, Room 337
1100 - 1200 NBS lecture theatre G.27
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Jan 27th - 28th 2015 Bucks New University
BU510 Module (Foundation Degree)
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Jan 17th 2015 - Article in Midlands News - click here for link
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Jan 13th - 14th 2015 Redditch (UK) - Crowd Risk Analysis Workshop
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Jan 10th 2015 - Feature article in the Worcester News
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Jan 1st 2015 BBC World Service (Interview on the Shanghai crowd crush)
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Jan 2015 article in the ICSS Journal – Vol 2 | No 4 pages 47 - 51
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2014 Workshops, lectures and publications
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Dec 17th - 18th 2014 Bucks New University
SF610 Module (BA Hons)
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Dec 15th - 16th 2014 Manchester Central, UK.
Introduciton to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course
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Dec Article in Security Insider Vol 19 Issue 5 (Australia) - click here for the magazine
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Nov 18th - 19th 2014 Train the Trainer course (part 1)
Manchester Metropolitan University
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Nov 12th 2014 University of Cumbria - Crowd Risk and Crowd Safety Analysis lectures (afternoon)
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Oct 24th 2014 Sydney, Australia. Premiers Department.
New Year Events (one day workshop)
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Oct 20th - 22nd 2014 Sydney, Australia.
Introducion to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
Police Training College (Manly)
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Oct 7thth - 9 2014 Holland, Leeuwarden, Introducion to Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis
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Oct 6th 2014 - Mathematics Webinar - Safer Crowds: Modelling Complexity with Keith Still
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Oct 1st - 3rd 2014 Belfast, Crowd Risk Analysis Workshop
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Sept 1st - 2nd 2014 Manchester UK (Eventcity), talking at "The Venue Expo"
Sept 1st 2014 - Keynote Theatre (12:30) - Crowd Risk Analysis at Large Events
Sept 2nd 2014 - Keynote Theatre (12:30) - Crowd Management at Large Events
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Aug 8th - 17th 2014 Australian Institute of Police Management,
Sydney, Australia. Introduction to Crowd Safety and Risk Analyssi
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Keith and Val in Sydney - 2014
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Jun 29th 2014 “Introduction to Crowd Science” now available as an Amazon Kindle purchase. Click here for link
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Jun 23rd 2014 London UK, Criminal justice special interest group lecture.
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Jun 17th - 19th 2014 London UK, Lecture and panel session for "Safe Cities”.
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Jun 10th - 11th 2014 Lancaster City Centre, Crowd Risk Analysis workshop
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The One Show
6th June 2014 - 7:30 - BBC 1 Broadcast of the “String”
and “Egg timer” effect. The work I did over 22 years ago.
Very nice piece (popular science). Thanks to the team
who put this together - it was a lot of fun filming.
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May 8th - 9th 2014 Manchester, Lancashire County Cricket Club UK. Introduction to Crowd Science workshop
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April 24th 2014 Article in the ICSS Journal on Crowd Risk Analysis - click here to download
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Apr 15th 2014 Amsterdam, Studiedag 2014, Keynote talk on Crowd Risk Analysis and Crowd Dynamics.
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Apr 8th - 9th 2014 Bucks New University UK.
BU510 - Introduction to Crowd Science
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Apr 4th 2014 - Article in City Security (Issue 51 - Spring 2014)
on behavioural based safety “This way out.”
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Apr 1st - 2nd 2014 Birmingham UK. Introduction to Crowd Science Workshop
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Mar - Now a specialist fellowship of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management
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Mar - Articles in City Security and ICSS approved - Spring publication
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Mar 13th - 14th 2014 Belfast, IVCES, Lecture on Crowd Science.
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Mar 11th - 12th 2014 Bucks New University (High Wycombe)
SF610 Applied Crowd Science
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Mar 1oth 2014 Bucks New University (High Wycombe)
Crowd safety lecture to event students
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Feb 27th 2014 Hampden Park, (Glasgow). Introduction to Crowd Science seminar/lecture
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Feb 24rd - 25th 2014 Bristol, Introduction to Crowd Science workshop
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Feb 11th 2014 - Filming at Manchester City stadium for the One Show
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Feb 5th - 6th 2014 Edgbaston (Birmingham), Introduction to crowd science workshop
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Feb 1st 2014 - Article in the 50th Edition of Mathematics today.
Click here to download the article.
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Jan 28th 2014 - London, Crowd Management Workshop (all day)
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Jan 26th 2014 - Article in “The Times of India”
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Jan 22rd - 23rd 2014 - Bristol, Introduction to Crowd Science Workshop
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Jan 15th 2014 - TV programme on Crowd Control with David Mead. Click here for a link (1.36Gb)
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2013 Workshops, lectures and publications
Keynote speaker
Professor Keith Still
Crowd risk analysis and safety engineering for events
MMU Connect Student Conference 29th Nov 2013
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College
Introduction to Crowd Science (11th - 12th December 2013)
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G. Keith Still - Finalist - Security consultant of the year
Security excellence awards 2013
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Developing a crowd management plan - LCCC (Internal training)
13th November 2013
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BBC News Article "Can technology help avoid stampedes?"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24463736
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College - Introduction to Crowd Science (23rd - 24th October 2013)
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Prof. Still's talk on "Crowd Science and Mass Evacuation of City Buildings" City of London (17th Oct 2013)
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Prof. Still's lectures "Crowd Science and Risk Assessment" Public Events and Major Incidents Workshop
Norfolk and Suffolk Police, (14th October 2013)
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Filming BBC Documentary "Crowd Management" 8th October 2013
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College - Applied Crowd Science (16th - 17th September 2013)
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Channel 4 Documentary "The Human Swarm part 2" broadcast September/October
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College - Introduction to Crowd Science (9th - 10th September 2013)
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Austin, Texas, USA. 6th Street Lectures, USA (9th - 17th August 2013)
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Liverpool - City Wide Events Workshop - 4th - 5th July
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Emergency Planning Society - Webinar - Major City Events (26th June 2013)
In this webinar Prof Still outlines the key issues related to major events in city centres with specific focus on crowd safety. This is a general over view of event planning for city wide events.
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College - Webinar - Planning Major City Wide Events - (20th June 2013)
This one hour interactive webinar will cover the key issues of city wide events and planning requirements for crowd safety. This is a teaching session focussing on the key issues of crowd planning.
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College (Introduction to Crowd Science) 5th - 6th June 2013
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Channel 4 Documentary "The Human Swarm part 1" broadcast May 30th
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Prof. Still Keynote talk "The Underlying Causes of Crowd Accidents" San Francisco (May 28th - 30th 2013)
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Copenhagen, Denmark - Crowd Safety Conference - 14th - 15th May
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College (Introduction to Crowd Science) 29th - 30th April 2013
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Camden - How to Plan a Safe Event - Institute of Licensing - 22nd - 23rd April 2013
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Foundation Degree Classes - Bucks New University 8th - 9th April 2013
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Manchester - How to Plan a Safe Event - Institute of Licensing - 26th - 27th March 2013
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Aberdeen - Workshop on crowd safety - 18th March 2013
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Hong Kong (Webinar) - Crowd Modelling - 14th March 2013
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BA (Hons) Classes - Bucks New University 12th - 13th March 2013
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Global Aviation Forum - Amsterdam - 26th February 2013
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NPIA - Police Commanders lecture (teaching crowd science) 30th Jan 2013
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UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College (applied crowd science) 28th - 29th January 2013
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2012 Workshops, lectures and publications
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Prof. Still talk "Crowd Science" at the Midlands Operations Research Society on the 21st November 2012
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Drive Time "Lincoln Christmas Market" Radio 4 broadcast 11th Oct 2012
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MSNBC broadcast (USA) "Caught on Camera: Crowd Control" September 30th on MSNBC at 8PM ET/U.S.
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Recent articles in the Guardian and Times Extra (June/July 2012)
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Article in Move - Event Magazine (click here to download)
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In safe hands
Prof Keith Still, Professor of Crowd Science at Bucks New University (International Centre for Crowd Management & Security Studies), helped model crowd safety for the Royal Wedding. Keith was involved in advising the organisation, The Royal Parks, in evaluating crowd risks, density and ‘park full’ elements for the areas from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace, Green Park and Hyde Park. In addition, the company Show and Event Security, which is run by Tony Ball, who sits on the policy board of the International Centre, and whose employees include Bucks lecturer Tony Wright, was also involved in overseeing 1,400 staff on the big day.
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Urban Realm
Crowd Dynamics 7 Apr 2011
Britons might be renowned for their queuing civility but bucketfuls of patience haven’t proved sufficient to prevent a number of crowd related disasters from occurring on our shores, from Ibrox to Hillsborough. With the Olympics and Commonwealth Games now figuring large in everyone’s thoughts Urban Realm decided to delve a little deeper into a diverse field which marries architecture, mathematics and psychology.
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12th European Health and Safety Conference
Three might be a crowd in popular parlance but what is an everyday nuisance for most can become a deadly dance with death for some when a gathering of individuals turns its thoughts from party to panic. Caught in the middle of this phenomenon is Professor Keith Still, Aberdeenshire mathematician, Harley Davidson fanatic and collector of dodgy signage. Still is the world’s foremost authority on the science of crowd management and someone anyone who finds themselves in a tight spot can count on.
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April 2011 - Article for the UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College
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Wired Magazine
"Faith in Numbers"
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Contingency Today Magazines.
Make space for the crowd
Developments in improving, understanding and modelling the spatial awareness of crowds are providing a valuable tool in helping the safety industry plan and adapt to emergency situations and terrorist attacks.
Dr. G. Keith Still FIMA FICPEM SFIIRSM MEWI, Professor of Crowd Science at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU)
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BBC 4 Live interview Saturday 18th December 2010 (0935-0945)
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Inauguration Ceremony - Bucks New University
29th November 2010 - Prof. Dr Chris Kemp and Prof. Dr. G. Keith Still
G4S Professor of Crowd Science
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G4S Appoints Leading Crowd Science Expert
G4S Secure Solutions has today appointed Professor G Keith Still BSc PhD FIMA FICPEM
as a Senior Consultant in Crowd Science in its Events business (Sept 2010)
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Health and Safety Seminar / Reeperbahn Campus 2010 (Hamburg - Germany)
23rd September 2010
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Festival Awards - Panel discussion on Non-ticketing event safety.
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Research Symposium - Policing Major Public Events
Higher Institute of Police Sciences and International Security
Lisbon, Portugal 13th - 16th September 2010
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Prof. Still talking at ESPN Global Security - ESPN Headquarters Connecticut. USA
August 18th 2010
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Prof. G. Keith Still, Leonard Bonacci and Other Sports Security Professionals Speak at NCS4 Conference
August 4th (New Orleans)
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European Academy of Venue Management residential week
September 5th - September 10th 2010, Missenden Abbey, Buckinghamshire England.
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"So You Want to be a Scientist"
Prof. Still wearing the crowd pressure monitoring suit.
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November 2009 - When Shoppers Attack -- How to Survive a Black Friday Stampede
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November 2009 - Emergency Services Lecture 2009
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October 2009 - Secure London Lecture 2009
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August 2009 - MENSA Magazine
Article on Crowd Safety
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July 2009 - Policing Today - Leading the Crowd
Policing Today is the official journal of ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) and is published five times per year. The journal includes in-depth articles, news, and in-depth features covering policy, working methods, legal and parliamentary changes, and the latest information technology.
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Guardian : June 27th 2009. Critical mass
When does a packed but happy crowd become a dangerous, even lethal one? Emma Brockes investigates a growing trend - the 'crowd craze'.
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June 2009 - iSquared - Institute of Mathematics - Cover Story
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April 2009 - BBC Focus Magazine
CROWDS : The trouble with crowds - The scientists working to prevent another Hillsborough. 4 page article on crowds and crowd behaviour in the BBC science magazine.
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Understanding Crowd Science
By Dr. G. Keith Still - The Main Event (published Nov 2005 - first edition of the NOEA news monthly)
“The accident was caused by inappropriate crowd behaviour” is an all too common an excuse for problems that result in personal injury. When accidents occur one of the first thing to blame is the crowd behaviour - obviously. But what site factors affect the crowd’s behaviour?
Imagine the mood of the crowd kept waiting outside a venue that fails to open on time or the frustration of long, unmanaged queues for concessions and toilets. Badly managed car parking (one of my personal boiling points) and poor signage can badly affect the mood (and subsequent behaviour) of the crowd. How much can we influence the appropriate behaviour of crowds in our event management and safety plans?
Over the last five years we have run a series of workshops around the world on “understanding crowd dynamics” and reviewed hundreds of events from the local village firework display to the three million pilgrims attending the “stoning the devil” ceremony during Haj (the annual pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia). There are many common features to crowd safety that are worth highlighting as these can significantly improve safety and have a direct affect on both profits and appropriate crowd behaviour.
There are two main elements to the problems of crowd dynamics. The physical elements (we call these the hard issues) and the behavioural elements (these are called the soft issues). Hard issues relate to physical layout, location of facilities, provision for adequate means of ingress/egress, planning for emergency responses and process and procedures. Soft issues relate to communication, behaviour and management effects on the crowd. Post mortem analysis of crowd disasters show that both hard and soft issues contribute to the major crowd disasters. A review of these problems can help improve crowd safety in general. Sadly there is little in the literature that helps event organisers understand the nature of the crowd and how both hard and soft issues need to be considered in the overall safety planning of events both large and small.
One of the main failings of the many sites we’ve reviewed is information and communication systems. Poor signage not only confuses and frustrates people but, in the event of an emergency, can cause frustration that leads to crowd violence.
There are four main behavioural groups relating to crowd violence:
Frustration can give rise to Group III behaviour and therefore how frustration manifests itself and how it may be controlled is an important element in understanding crowd dynamics and managing crowds safely. When levels of frustration increase beyond reasonable levels it can result in crowd violence.
It is important to distinguish between what is and what is not within your power to change. We can examine the different types of reaction to a frustrating event. For examples: excessive queueing, bad weather, delays on public transport. Frustration often arises out of trying to change an uncontrollable circumstance. Careful site design, assessing queueing times, ingress and egress rates and facilities provision all help reduce frustration. Many of these elements are under our control.
When dealing with an uncontrollable circumstance (such as the weather), you do control one thing: how you communicate with the crowd.
“We are sorry but there is no further information at this time” is an announcement that keeps the management in contact with the crowd. No announcement can increase frustration so consider talking to the crowd, keeping people informed of the situation even if there is no change in the circumstances.
When dealing with crowds you should consider the hierarchy of human needs (first proposed by Mastlow in his book “Motivation and Personality” 1970). These, in order of importance, are as follows:
- Food, drink, temperature regulation, toilet facilities, rest, oxygen.
- Safety, protection, security.
- Affection, involvement, trust.
- Being part of the group, esteem and self esteem.
- Respect, recognition, self respect
- Knowledge, order, understanding
- Self actualisation, Max personal development
If you use the above as the crowd’s fundamental requirements you can construct a checklist. How many of the venues are designed around these basic human needs? Where signage towards the toilets is ambiguous are we creating unnecessary frustrations? Many issues of communication can be solved using simple techniques – such as putting a distance on the signage
(Toilets 200m this way ->).
Frustrations shapes crowd behaviour and event organisers should try to reduce crowd frustration at every possible opportunity.
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Haj Missions, Ministry Team Up for Safety
Habib Shaikh, Arab News - Saturday, 27, November, 2004 (14, Shawwal, 1425).
JEDDAH, 27 November 2004 — The foreign Haj missions to the Kingdom have been urged to support the action plan that has been formulated by the Ministry of Haj after long deliberations, research and studies for the safety of the more than two million pilgrims who are expected to come for Haj this year.
“We appeal to the foreign Haj missions in Saudi Arabia to enhance and strengthen their cooperation for greater safety and comfort of the Hajis. And we are confident of a positive response from them,” said Dr. Sahl A. Al-Sabban, assistant deputy minister of Haj for projects and holy sites affairs. “We in Saudi Arabia consider the foreign Haj missions as major players in Haj plans and services. They represent the Hajis in many ways and are the best contact and source to convey the message,” he told Arab News on Thursday. Al-Sabban said the action plan is the product of an integrated and scientific approach by the Ministry of Haj, General Security, Civil Defense, Municipality of Makkah, Haj Research Center, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs, Red Crescent, and the General Secretariat for Development of Makkah and Madinah and Holy Sites, as well as the Tawafa establishments in Makkah. “The plan is a result of many years of experience in this area,” said Dr. G. Keith Still f the UK-based Crowd Dynamics. Still, who has been conducting workshops, lectures and seminars for the last three years, said his company has been doing consultancy work for the Ministry of Haj. The company prepared several reports and has had some input in the design of the new Jamarat Bridge. He also said the plan was safety tested using well-established and reliable scientific methods and practices. Al-Sabban said the foreign Haj missions are a strong link between the Ministry of Haj, various Haj organizations, institutions and agencies and Hajis from their respective countries and are well placed to disseminate messages and guidelines regarding stoning at the Jamarat. “These missions can play a major role,” Al-Sabban said. “They maintain good contacts with the Ministry of Haj, attend workshops and seminars every year, and are well aware of the plans. Travel agents and group leaders can also play a significant role in the matter.” He said a favourable response would be forthcoming from these missions bearing their duties and responsibilities to do more for the safety and security of the pilgrims. Of late, many countries have begun to educate, train and orient the Hajis coming from their countries. One such country is India, from where the second largest number of pilgrims come for Haj. India started a program to train Hajis in 1999, stressing safety, especially at the Jamarat area. The embassy and the consulate general are the key players in the program. Audio-video orientation programs are conducted for the pilgrims in various states. The pilgrims are taught how to move, when to move, what precautions to take, and the like.
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Making the Jamarat Bridge Safer for Pilgrims
Arab News Staff Writer Sunday, 26, September, 2004 (11, Sha`ban, 1425).
JEDDAH, 26 September 2004 — All organizations involved in the Haj rituals at Jamrat Bridge will be reorganized and restructured for better and safer crowd management, according to Haj Minister Iyad Madani. Inaugurating a six-day workshop on crowd management here yesterday, Madani explained that the process will comprise scheduling of stone-throwing, and enhancement of operations in order to get better performance and help enhance pilgrims’ safety. The workshop, conducted by Dr. G. Keith Still of the UK-based Crowd Dynamics, is attended by senior officials from Public Security, Civil Defense, Makkah Municipality, Haj Research Center, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs, Red Crescent, and General Secretariat for Development of Makkah and Madinah and Holy Sites. The minister said the changes planned for the forthcoming Haj were in keeping with the ongoing work on the new bridge where the shape of the basement has been changed from round to oval thereby increasing the capacity by 25 percent. He said the goal of the workshop was to increase cooperation and contribute to coordination between different authorities, and strengthen their working as a team. He said the government was always ready and keen to use the best expertise in crowd management. Dr. Sahl Al-Sabban, assistant deputy minister of Haj for projects and holy sites affairs, said different government authorities dealing with Jamarat have their own planning for crowd management. “The workshop is focusing on team, joint approach and effort. It is good to have a common strategy, administration, management and operations,” he added. Keith told Arab News that with the change in the bridge’s shape there will be a change in capacity necessitating a change in management as well, and “it is important to plan, anticipate and prepare.” He said there will be three more workshops, which would conclude well before Haj. The present one is focusing on the overall management of change. The other three will be devoted to scheduling, operations and an advanced class termed Master Class. Keith, who has been conducting workshops, lectures and seminars for the last three years, said his company has been doing consultancy work for the Ministry of Haj. It has prepared several reports for it, and has had some input in the design of the new Jamarat Bridge. “Crowd dynamics is a new science,” he said. It deals with how and where crowds are formed, how they move, how and where they reach critical mass, what is crush potential, what are the safety limits, design effects and so on. “Earlier, we just looked at action and reaction. Now we study anatomy of disaster. We can learn a lot from regular studies of crowd disasters worldwide,” he said. There used to be just crowd control where mainly force was used to make the crowd do what it did not want to do. Crowd management is designed to change their behaviour through established and proven management procedures. He said big, open spaces are not easier to manage than confined, underground areas, which are difficult to handle. Pillars also create problems. It is necessary to test different models and carry out simulations. Analyzing the anatomy of disasters, one learns that unfamiliar environment poses higher risks. People tend to return the way they had gone. To change the environment it is necessary to change the perception as well. “One way of doing that is through signboards. Information changes behaviour,” he said, and added, “All of the best ideas and principles have been observed and used in the design of the new bridge. It is designed with equilibrium and balance.” There should be both good design as well as good management, and the workshops, hopefully will contribute to that, he said.
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Outline of the Crowd Science Workshops - Ministry of Haj - 2004 (for 2005 Haj)
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PC Magazine -- 4/1/1996
Programming Crowd Behaviour: Point and Run--Sheryl Canter--Math whiz studies flocks of birds and Wembley Stadium for programming.
The ability to do repetitive tasks at lightning speeds makes computers seem omnipotent--leave them crunching away at a problem at the end of the day and they'll come up with a solution. Research scientists, however, have discovered some problems that are simply impossible to solve with traditional techniques, no matter how big or fast a computer may be. Such a problem occurs when the number of elements to analyze is very large, because a program must consider every possible situation. Modelling the movements of crowds at a stadium, for example, poses two potential difficulties: You must provide to the computer knowledge of every contingency and, if the number of possibilities is large, you may have to wait literally forever for the solution to be computed. Scottish mathematician G. Keith Still, who studies crowd dynamics, has invented some powerful and efficient programming techniques to deal with this problem. Still's approach, which he calls "entity-oriented programming," couples a virtual-reality landscape based on dynamic fractal calculations with self-aware entities that can react to the landscape as well as to one another. He then encodes the rules that govern how systems operate, rather than the behaviour of each individual element. Still has developed a library of routines called Myriad to implement this technique. "We program in simple rules and let the system replicate, evolve, and grow. What happens is awesome when you first see it-you get emergent behaviour, something for nothing," says Still. With entity-oriented programming, the problem shifts from determining all possibilities to determining the rules that give rise to complex behaviour. "For example, a simple set of rules can model a flock of birds," explains Still. "To create birds, we need three rules: Match speeds with the nearest neighbour, maintain a minimum distance from the nearest neighbour, and try very hard to get to the centre of the flock. When we do this, the birds display all the characteristics of a flock of living birds--swooping, dividing around solid objects, and reforming again--a whole range of complex behaviour from a few simple rules." Still's company, applies these techniques to crowd management, entrance and exit design for buildings, and barrier design for minimizing bottlenecks for London's Wembley Stadium and other clients. The rules governing the behaviour of a crowd trying to get through an exit are even simpler than for a flock of birds. Each person wants to get through the door in the shortest time, following the shortest route. That's programmed with two simple rules: point and run. Legion can be applied to more than just crowd control. Still also has had success using it to model financial markets, and he is working on encryption and compression applications. In fact, the technique can be applied to any complex interactive system such as biological cells, currency markets, or ecosystems.
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PC Magazine -- May 28, 1996
Programming Crowd Control--Sheryl Canter--Math whiz studies crowd dynamics at Wembley Stadium.
The ability to do repetitive tasks at lightning speeds makes computers seem omnipotent: leave them crunching away at a problem at the end of the day and they'll come up with a solution overnight. Research scientists, however, have discovered some problems that are simply impossible to solve with traditional techniques, no matter how big or fast the computer. Such a problem occurs when the number of elements to analyze is very large, because a program must consider every possible situation. Modelling the movements of crowds at a stadium, for example, poses two difficulties: You must provide to the computer knowledge of every contingency, and if the number of possibilities is large, you may have to wait literally forever for the solution. G. Keith Still, a Scottish mathematician who studies crowd dynamics, has invented some powerful programming techniques to deal with this problem. Still's approach, which he calls "entity-oriented programming," couples a virtual-reality landscape based on dynamic fractal calculations with self-aware entities that can react to the landscape and to one another. He then encodes the rules that govern how systems operate, rather than the behaviour of each individual element. Still has developed a library of routines, called Myriad, to implement this technique. "We program in simple rules and let the system replicate, evolve, and grow. What happens is awesome when you first see it--you get emergent behaviour," says Still. With entity-oriented programming, the problem shifts from determining all possibilities to determining the rules that give rise to complex behaviour. "For example, a simple set of rules can model a flock of birds," explains Still. "To create birds, we need three rules: match speeds with the nearest neighbour, maintain a minimum distance from the nearest neighbour, and try very hard to get to the centre of the flock. When we do this, the birds behave like a flock of live birds--swooping, dividing around solid objects, reforming again--a whole range of complex behaviour from a few simple rules." Still's own company, applies these techniques to crowd management, entrance and exit design for buildings, and barrier design for minimizing bottlenecks for London's Wembley Stadium and other clients. Still has also had success using his algorithms to model financial markets, and he's working on encryption and compression applications. In fact, the technique can be applied to any complex interactive system, such as biological cells, currency markets or ecosystem