A STUDY ON SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES ADOPTED BY LOCAL EVENT COMPANIES AGAINST GROWING IMMINENT THREAT

Abstract

Singapore is undoubtedly one of the top MICE destinations in Asia. As the winner of Asia’s top meeting and convention centre for the 13th consecutive year, Singapore must ensure that it is safe and secure for potential investors to hold their MICE events here. Moreover, as MICE events account for 20% of the total tourist arrivals in 2015, it is vital for every stakeholder to take effective measures to ensure that threat does not reach our borders. The goal of this study is to explore ways to improve MICE security and covering aspects such as the role of the local government in imposing strict regulations, communication level between the in-house and private security companies, Smart security facilities and possible future MICE venue capital investment. Literature review and interviews were conducted with MICE venue Security Directors and Managing Directors of private security companies. Also, a question was asked during a SGSecure dialogue session by Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on the legislative aspects on MICE security. Findings show that there is no official guidelines or mandatory regulations by the government for MICE security planning in view of the flexible nature of MICE events. It was also found that communication level can be further improved during MICE event security planning process. Furthermore, it was found that the current security facilities in MICE venues are commonly used in most infrastructures in Singapore. Hence, MICE venues are exploring Smart Technology to enhance security productivity. Moreover, some private security companies have started investing in Smart equipment such as body worn cameras after realising its benefits. On the other hand, the question of how much can Smart technology value add to the security monitoring was also raised.