Security systems at amusement and waterparks have a tough job—they must provide a deterrent and still be somewhat discreet. Parks need to ensure the safety of their guests, but security must stay in the background, lest they detract from the park’s image as a haven of carefree fun. The terrorist attacks of September 11 and, more recently, in an Indonesian nightclub, have only made the task more difficult because the potential threat can be much greater.

“It is important for parks to understand that [amusement parks and waterparks] are attractive to terrorists,” says Peter Tarlow, an expert on tourism security. “Terrorists seek publicity, and the bigger [the park], the more publicity they get.”

A well-conceived security plan, combined with the right training and equipment, can help a park prepare for the worst and also contend with the more mundane security issues that it is far more likely to encounter, like visitor disputes and missing people. Advances in technology are making the task easier, but security experts agree that many of the fundamentals remain the same.

Back to the Basics

It’s a mistake to think of security only in the literal sense of the term, says Jerry Ratajczak, the director of security for American Specialty Risk Management. Ratajczak reviews security arrangements for more than 100 amusement parks, waterparks, and other attractions every year. “Security to us entails much more than putting officers out there and putting up fences,” he says. “When we do a security assessment, we look at everything from hiring practices to training practices to emergency response plans.”


Guest safety is part of the equation, too, says Tarlow, the author of Event Risk Management and Safety, and the organizer of the National Tourism Security Conference, held every May. “I don’t distinguish between safety and security. People go to parks to have a good time, and whether you are running and fall over and hit your head or someone puts a knife in you, the result is the same—
your day is ruined.”
He says every security plan should consider three major elements to determine what to include: park size, location, relationship with law enforcement, and equipment.

Based on the size and location, for example, security arrangements at Quassy Park, a 25-acre park in Middlebury, Conn., have not changed much since September 11, says George Frantzis, vice president of the park. “We’re not near any large cities and our annual attendance is only 250,000, so we don’t feel like we’re a major target for terrorists or anyone going after a large group of people.”

This is not the case with large parks, Tarlow says. “Disneyland has a much higher profile. So Disney is going to need a different type of security than a park in Topeka, Kans.” Taking into account the size of the park is crucial because the number of people who visit the park and the actual acreage of the venue will change every aspect of the plan.

Just as essential are the park’s location and who is visiting. “You want to have a sense of who comes in and what problems they might bring,” Tarlow says. “Are they older people or younger? Are they teenagers? Do people drop off their kids and use the park as a babysitter?”

If a sizable portion of guests speak another language, the security plan must address this, too, he says. “If someone is screaming ‘My child is lost’ in a language that you cannot speak, that’s a problem.” The security plan should make sure people know what to expect. This can include signs to make guests aware of the rules, as well as discreet ways of making guests aware of other security arrangements, such as a notice telling guests that there are cameras in the park “for your protection.”

Whatever security plan is determined, it’s useless without the cooperation of local law enforcement. It’s too late to introduce your security staff to the local police and fire departments when a crisis is underway, Ratajczak says. “In the event that you have a situation, when the first responders get there things are going to go a lot more smoothly if they know the employees and the employees know what to expect.” Even better—volunteer your park as a training ground during the off-season. This way, local agencies will be familiar with the park in the event of a real emergency.


Law enforcement may also be crucial in determining what security equipment will best protect the park in that particular area, given the size and visitor demographics. Police and fire personnel may recommend traditional security equipment, such as metal detectors and surveillance cameras, to protect the park from predators. But some parks may want to add security equipment that is provided as a guest amenity, such as guest-locator or ride-queuing systems and devices.

Security Goes Digital
The digital revolution has significantly improved standard security equipment, such as surveillance cameras. And it has ushered in dramatically new devices that take park security to a new level.

Some of the most useful new equipment is digital mapping, such as the system developed by Porteum, a company that creates digital maps of parks’ buildings and grounds. These maps can be displayed by the mobile data terminals that are standard equipment in many police and fire vehicles. The maps can include whatever a park wants to put on them, such as the location of hazardous materials and fire hydrants or the interior layout of dark rides. “These systems can be incorporated into the local dispatch center of the local law-enforcement agencies,” Ratajczak says. “If you have a situation where police officers (or firefighters) are responding to a specific venue, that digital map can be brought up on their mobile data terminal while they are en route, so they have very detailed information before they are even on the scene.”


Park locator systems provide a major advantage to parks, as well as to their visitors. These systems use wireless technology to keep track of guests in the park. SafeTzone is marketed as a safety device for guests who want to keep track of their children or other family members when they are separated. And while the system is primarily for the use of guests, park officials can tap into it should they need to locate someone in the event of an emergency.

Other park-guest devices that use wireless technology, such as the Lo-Q ride-queuing system and Park-Tours’ Park-Cruiser guest-information system, can also be used to track a guest’s location in the park.

Digital technology is constantly improving traditional surveillance systems. Cameras are one of the mainstays of park security for the many advantages that they offer. Their presence alone can act as a hindrance both for park employees who might be tempted to dip into the cash register and for guests who might want to vandalize park property, says Tyler Bennett, director of operations for Kyros Digital Surveillance Systems.

There are cameras that can pan, tilt, and zoom by remote control, which give operators the means of tracking guests who are up to mischief. “You can mount them on top of the roller coaster and they are your eye in the sky,” Bennett says. “If a guest you are trying to reach is being elusive, you can track him or her and let security on the ground know where he or she is going.”


Best of all, surveillance cameras that are hooked up to a recording device can create a record to be used by parks both in prosecuting crimes and in defending itself against dubious personal injury claims.

Before the digital revolution, surveillance camera data was recorded onto video tapes. Now, the action can be recorded digitally, with significant advantages to operators. The system offered by Kyros can be programmed to play back only those moments when there is activity in the picture. “You don’t have to watch hours of dead tape,” Bennett says. “And you can archive the parts that you need on a hard drive, a CD, or digital tape. It’s much less cumbersome than storing and managing all those video tapes. You can take a month’s worth of data and store it in one spot.” Plus, digital data does not deteriorate over time like video tapes.

Digital systems allow operators to view recently recorded images while the system continues to record. This lets a camera operator take an immediate second look a something of interest without losing a record of what happens during the review.

Digital technology is also reducing the size of cameras and recording equipment. It may not be practical for a park to put a camera over every cash register. But if a particular location needs attention, parks can now surreptitiously install a tiny camera and connect it to a hidden digital recorder.


The Human Factor
Surveillance, digital or otherwise, is only as good as the person who monitors the cameras. “The key,” Ratajczak says, “is to have someone who knows what to look for and isn’t afraid to respond. If they see something that doesn’t look quite right, they should not have a problem contacting security. It could be something totally harmless, but you don’t know if it isn’t checked out.”

To this end, no amount of high-tech security can replace the need for security personnel who can walk the park grounds. As a deterrent, some security personnel should be in a uniform of some sort. It may be traditional garb, or it may be something less intimidating. Quassy Park shuns uniforms and has its security guards wear special shirts. “Since our market is young families, we feel that having a low-profile security group is more user-friendly,” Frantzis says.

Quassy also has security in the park in plain clothes. This is a trend, according to Ratajczak. “We are seeing more and more covert security,” he says. “It used to be that covert operations were more directed toward keeping employees honest. But because of what’s happened in the past year and a half it has become more of an issue with any facility that has a large number of people in it at any one time.”


Whether in uniform or not, Ratajczak says procedures, security policies, and training depend on the quality of the personnel, both park employees and contracted security services. “You can’t hire a security company and never research them,” he says. “You want to make sure those people know what they’re doing, and if there is a state certification process, that they are certified.”

Security personnel can be tailored to the demographics of the park’s audience. For example, Quassy Park draws a lot of school kids, Frantzis says, so the park hires people who work as security guards at the local schools. “They have a good background in dealing with kids and they know the security issues that they bring in with them.”

The personality of security guards can make a big difference, too. Tarlow says that parks should look for guards who are not afraid to chat with the guests. “The more interaction there is between security and the public, the more information they’re picking up. You don’t want a guard who sits quietly in a corner.” At the same time, parks need security personnel who are not inclined to get into a shouting match with an unruly guest but who know how to handle a situation before it gets out of hand.

Says Ratajczak, “It all boils down to the fact that you get what you pay for. The bottom line is looked at very hard, but there’s a balancing act. Sometimes it’s going to cost a little more than you want, but peace of mind can be more important than the bottom line.”

Making Security an Asset


“It used to be that people in park security were seen as adding nothing to the bottom line,” Tarlow says. “They were just an added cost that you were stuck with.” While it remains true that security will not increase attendance like a new ride, in the post-September 11 world, savvy parks can turn security into an asset, he says. “People are looking for a safe, secure environment. The old paradigm was to try to hide it. Post 9/11, people want to know what safety measures are in place.”

New security technology is making it easier than ever for parks to assure guest safety, Ratajczak says. But, he adds: “If you don’t have good people, all the technology in the world isn’t going to help you.”