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Managing Major Public Events:

A Planning Guide for Municipal Officials,

Law Enforcement, Community Leaders,

Organizers, and Promoters

November 2000
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The Community Relations Service

The Community Relations Service (CRS), an agency of the U.S.

Department of Justice, was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to help

resolve community racial conflict through non-coercive, third party

conciliation. CRS is called upon to assist communities to resolve disputes

arising from alleged use of excessive force by police. CRS conciliators

have extensive experience with the issues associated with racial and ethnic

conflict.

CRS conducts formal mediated negotiations to help resolve differences

between the police and community groups. In addition, CRS provides a

wide range of informal assistance that attempts to keep communications

open among affected parties and to facilitate a mutually acceptable

resolution of the conflict. CRS offers its services either upon request or on

its own initiative, when there is a threat of disruption to peaceful

community relations.

The Community Relations Service is headquartered in Washington, D.C.,

and has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit,

Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San

Francisco, and Seattle. Assistance may be requested directly from any of

these offices.
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Table of Contents

The Community Relations Service . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

CRS Planning Team and Publication Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Director’s Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Public Events and Potential Problems . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Community Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Participant Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Contingency Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Event Organizing and Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Who Is Involved in Event and Activity Planning?. . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Pre-event Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Activities During the Event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

After-event Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Communities with Experience in Major Event Planning . . . . . . . . 29

Asbury Park/Belmar, New Jersey . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Atlanta, Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Daytona Beach, Florida . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Galveston, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Grand Strand, South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Quincy/Gretna, Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Virginia Beach, Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Spring Break/Special Events Conference Participants . . . . . . . . . . . 49

CRS Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

CRS Customer Service Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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CRS Planning Team for Conference

on

Spring Break and Special Events

Thomas Battles Daryl Borgquist

Patricia Glenn Efrain Martinez

Henry Mitchum Richard Sambrano

Ernie Stallworth Ozell Sutton

Lawrence Turner

Publication Team Credits

CRS would like to thank the teams of municipal officials, law enforcement,

community leaders, student organizers, and promoters from the cities of Asbury Park, New

Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; Daytona Beach, Florida; Galveston, Texas; Myrtle Beach/Atlantic

Beach/North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Quincy/Gretna, Florida; and Virginia Beach,

Virginia. They gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28-29, 1999, to share their

experience and insights. A representative group of the participants helped to develop and

design this publication in Washington, D.C., on December 1-2, 1999:

Dr. Joshua Edwards

Chairman, Human Relations Commission

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Lt. Edward D. Kirschenbaum

Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

Freehold, New Jersey

Thomas E. Leath

City Manager

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
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Major Darlene M. Neely

Special Operations Section

Atlanta Police Department

Mayor Roger “Bo” Quiroga

Galveston, Texas

Daryl Borgquist

Media Affairs Officer

Patricia Glenn

Regional Director

Ernest Stallworth

Senior Conciliation Specialist

Lawrence Turner

Senior Conciliation Specialist

Susan Dye Bartley

Contractor
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Director’s Foreword

I am particularly concerned about racial or ethnic confrontations that could

get out of hand and result in violence and danger to communities.

This guidebook describes what is required to help ensure that major public

events run smoothly and safely.

We have successfully participated in many public events from national

conventions to student demonstrations. As a result, our conciliators have

developed extensive experience with the planning and issues involved in

those events. Lessons learned from these events, from the partnerships we

have formed with communities, and from the eight community case

histories are the focus of this guidebook.

We hope that you can profit from the experience of others so that when a

public event comes to your city it will be as peaceful as possible.

Rose Ochi

November 2000
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“Planning for major events is not optional if

there is any hope or desire for a successful event. 

There is no substitute for a planning process which

involves, in a meaningful way, all the stakeholders.

This publication provides a framework for working

through the process and an opportunity to learn from

and take advantage of the experiences of others. How

one defines “success” may vary from community to

community. Planning helps define the unique elements

by which your community will measure “success.”

These expectations must be clearly defined and made

known if you have any hope of positive response.”

C. Oral Lambert

Chief Operating Officer

City of Virginia Beach, Virginia
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Introduction

Public Events and Potential Problems

This guide is the joint product of the Community Relations Service

and representatives from eight cities who faced significant issues over

hosting large gatherings of minority college-age youths for weekend

events.

Most of these cities are beach communities where annual gatherings

from 25,000 to 150,000 youths took place. The demand on community

resources was significant and the prospect of increased racial tension and

the possibility for disorder evident.

A review of the experience in these cities generated a list of

potential community and participant concerns. For example:

Community Concerns

CRS will conduct an assessment and provide conciliation assistance to the

community and law enforcement in San Antonio, Texas. Community

tensions have arisen in the aftermath of racial slurs which were painted on

the front doors of the Prince of Peace Baptist Church on Friday, December

1, 2000. The church has a black congregation. CRS will offer its expertise

and guidance to address the racial tensions.

• Citizens complained that they were hostages in their own

community.

• Traffic congestion created high community tensions.
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• Emergency vehicles could not reach destinations.

• Local residents felt that event participants did not treat them with

respect.

• Families and residents complained about offensive language used by

event participants.

• Lewd behavior and overtly sexual and inappropriate attire was

exhibited in public places.

• Large amounts of litter were left by participants.

• Public urination was observed due to shortage of bathroom

facilities.

• Taxpayers complained of footing the bill for extra

police/emergency/and park services, when the community

businesses did not raise revenue to cover these costs.

• Some businesses claimed they lost money. Local residents feared

some minority groups.

• Lack of officer training for public events was evident.

• Use of law enforcement from outside jurisdiction not familiar with

area and local procedures was a problem.

• Communication between law enforcement from different

jurisdictions caused confusion.

• Displacement of tourists created tension.

• Negative media coverage hurt the community’s image.

• Property damage was evident and an eyesore.

• Local criminals used events as cover for crime.

• Inadequate communication of city preparation and rules

frustrated visitors.

Participant Concerns
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• Discrimination against minorities or selective enactment of

ordinances and practices was widespread and offensive.

• More stringent enforcement of laws for minority groups was

unfair.

• Participants complained they did not feel welcomed and acted out

negative behavior.

• Lack of communication and coordination during the event added to

crowd control problems.

• There were problems with entering and exiting the event.

• Fear of criminal activity, property damage, and exhibitionism

leading to arrest was felt by participants.

Recognizing “flash points” that could ignite civil disturbances is the

first step in contingency planning. Municipal officials, law enforcement,

community leaders, organizers and promoters should consider all of the

possible problems well in advance of a public event.
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“Planning for major events is not optional if there is

any hope or desire for a successful event.”

C. Oral Lambert

Chief Operating Officer

City of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Contingency Planning

The primary goal of contingency planning is to be prepared for all

emergencies that might negatively impact residents in a community. 

Contingency plans are the specific written assignments of roles and

functions during times of crises or for major community events. Each

department, public and private organization should have a contingency

plan. Personnel and alternates should be identified as contacts for

emergency access.

A designated site for a command center should be part of any

contingency plan. The command center should have representatives from

the mayor’s office, law enforcement, public works, fire department, and

health organizations who will communicate and coordinate emergency

activities.
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Those in charge of the command center and the elected officials 

need to know what constitutional provisions, operating policies, and State

statutes will be in effect when there is a public event or civil disorder

condition. For example:

• Under what circumstances does the Governor assume partial or

complete responsibility for civil emergencies in a local jurisdiction?

What criteria would be used for a determination of a state of

emergency? Under what conditions may the State authorities

activate the National Guard or call for other external law

enforcement assistance? Have personnel who may be mobilized for

an emergency received appropriate training in the complexities and

sensitivities of dealing with minority-centered disputes and protest

issues? Do all state law enforcement agencies have policies

regarding non-lethal or disabling means of apprehension? Do all

agencies have the same policy?

 Before State assistance is summoned, all means of using noncoercive force should be employed. Staff of the Community Relations

Service, minority community leaders, clergy, human relations commission,

police chaplains, volunteers from minority police organizations, and

community volunteers should be called upon to conduct conciliation and

peacekeeping activities.
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“It is the single focus event that causes the most

problems and concerns.”

Thomas E. Leath

City Manager

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Event Organizing and Planning

Who Is Involved in Event and Activity Planning?
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 The answer is everyone who can affect the outcome. This will

include the mayor, city manager, police, and almost every municipal

department In addition, the community must be mobilized and involved. 

Volunteers will be required. Community organizations and business must

be involved.

The unique feature of many major events, such as Spring Break and

Special Events is that they bring a large number of college-age and younger

people to a community for the “event.” These are usually minimal or few

officially-sponsored activities. The main “event” is to be there to walk, to

cruise in cars, to be seen, and to visit with other students. Thus, when the

event comes to the city, everyone who works for the city – regardless of

their regular duties – will be working on the event for that period. All of a

city’s resources, including churches, community organizations, and

volunteers will be needed. The event is not solely the responsibility of the

police and fire departments.

Pre-event Activities

Pre-event activities involve planning by all city, police, business,

community, student, and promoter personnel to engage the resources

necessary for a successful event. At this stage potential problems should

be identified and addressed. Planning should occur six to nine months in

advance of large events. Even if a firm date is not known in the early

planning stages, it is usually well known that the activity will occur around

a particular holiday or vacation time. The exact event date can be plugged

in once it is publicized. Publication of exact dates is now usually

accomplished through student organization Internet web sites, which local
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officials can monitor.

Public Forum. Hold public forums in the community and arrange

for city officials to attend community organization meetings so that 

community residents are aware of the upcoming event and have their views

included in the planning. Be sure to announce the traffic plan and try to

involve residents in the event as volunteers. The community needs to

know that there is no backdoor plan or hidden agenda. Use the public

forum and any other community meeting to provide information. Be

positive and upbeat. This is a time to show off your city and make people

feel welcome.

Establish a budget. City and police officials will need to establish a

budget and identify needed equipment. Know how much you have to

spend and what can be volunteered or contributed from outside sources; 

then create a community task force for planning.

“The simplest thing can spark a major problem: a

fight, someone blocking a driveway, or traffic. Police
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have to deal with the event and keep traffic moving

along.”

Lt. Edward Kirschenbaum

Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

Freehold, New Jersey

Establish an effective traffic plan. The first and most important

planning activity is to establish a traffic plan to handle participants, affected

local residents and businesses, and emergency vehicles. Have a back-up

plan if bottlenecks occur and traffic ceases to flow. Because many of these

events occur in beach communities where natural boundaries define the

road patterns, the options may be limited. Make work what you have.

Young people will want to be near the beach, along the most popular major

streets, or a particular park area. Experience shows that this real estate

will be small and access limited, so you will have to develop a plan that

allows access to the place everyone is trying to get to and keeps them

moving through.

If the traffic plan fails, major problems will arise.

Work with media to develop a positive attitude. Involve the

media early in letting them know you are aware of the event and are

beginning to prepare for it. Establish a positive environment for the event. 

As the event gets closer, press releases, briefings, and announcements can

be used to prepare the community.

Training for all who will be providing services. Training is the
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key for law enforcement, volunteers/task force members, internal staff, and

outside agencies.

What should everybody expect? Many, including outside police

help and internal staff members, may not know what they are going to face. 

Don’t make assumptions about what you think they should know. Tell

them what to expect, because this is different from most anything they

have seen. Training for most of these people should take place right before

the event.

What will be the role of each person? This is especially important

for the volunteers. They need to know what they are expected and not

expected to do. 

What city information do they need? Many are coming from out of

town, and even volunteers who live in the city may not know enough about

the area to be helpful to a guest coming to the event. Give them maps and

hotel lists of hotels, restaurants, and other sites to pass out when people

start asking questions.

Recruitment and Training for Volunteers. Coordinate early all

groups who will be part of the event, so that there is no need for rushed,

last minute accommodation of groups seeking to join. There are several

kinds of volunteers that cities can recruit for large events. Volunteers are

very important, because they represent the face of the community and help

to show that the community is embracing the event. This helps to create a

positive feeling among the visitors to the community. Also, when local

citizens are involved there will be less potential resentment and hostility

from local residents to disruptions caused by the large numbers of visitors. 

The recruitment and training of these volunteers should be given a high

priority. Start early by recruiting leaders for the volunteer groups.

The kinds of volunteers who can be recruited include “friendship
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teams,” minority community or civil rights groups, police chaplains,

volunteer minority police officers, and local volunteers to help with water

stations, medical stations, and trash disposal. Local civic organizations can

be invited to set up food and drink stands as fundraisers.

Establishment of Friendship Teams. Friendship Teams

composed of local citizens can be formed to hand out welcome brochures.

They can also help people find places to eat, identify local landmarks, find

bathroom and medical facilities, and provide friendly faces to greet visitors. 

A cadre of city employees might be used as the core group of Friendship

Teams.

They should be provided with maps of the area and thoroughly

briefed on the traffic plan and event arrangements in order to guide visitors. 

They must be instructed that if they see a problem developing such as lewd

behavior, public exhibitionism, fighting and so forth, to contact their leader,

volunteer police officers, police chaplains, or a police officer. These

volunteers are not police officers and should not engage in or interfere with

police activity.

Training for Police. Make sure that police, both local and outside

forces, know and understand the “philosophy of enforcement” used in your

community. Make sure that the “philosophy of enforcement” remains the

same year round. Make sure that officers know what the role of volunteers

will be during the event. Police also need to know how to recognize the

volunteers. Be sure to introduce the leaders of the volunteer groups and

let them speak to the officers at pre-event roll calls. Some officers may not

be comfortable with civilian volunteers assisting during the event.
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“When a community embraces the event, the prospect

of disorder is lessened.”

Major Darlene M. Neely

Special Operations Section

Atlanta Police Department

Atlanta, Georgia

Involving and Informing the Community. City leaders should

start meeting with community leaders and organizations as early as possible

about major events. Use the media regularly to keep the public updated on

event planning. Make sure that the event is a regular agenda item on city

council meetings and is reported on by the city manager and department

heads. The event should not come as a surprise to anyone in the

community.

 Coordination of City, County, and State Law Enforcement. 

Develop your traffic plan early and identify all of the law enforcement

jurisdictions to be involved. In some cases, your traffic plan may involve a

neighboring city or county jurisdictions that will need to be made part of

the planning team. This coordination will be especially important to help

visitors to leave the city at the end of the event. Everyone who has come
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will try to leave within a short period of time and law enforcement in all of

the jurisdictions along the egress routes must be prepared for an unusually

high volume of traffic. The welcome brochure should identify anticipated

bottlenecks.

The host city’s police department should identify their policing

priorities and protocols for the event as early as possible; then brief and

coordinate with other law enforcement commanders. The police

department should establish a command post near the event site and have

representatives of all of the jurisdictions and the volunteer organizations at

the command post. The command post should be at a separate site from

the police department headquarters. It will need separate telephones with

well-publicized telephone numbers. Remote videos of the event area can 

be fed into the command center via microwave. It should also have

computers, radios, and a fax machine. City or State Human Relations

Commission representatives should also be used as a resource by the police

department. A single command post for all law enforcement and other

agencies is recommended. If another law enforcement organization

establishes a separate command post, be sure that there are liaisons from

each department at both command posts. 

Most likely, all of the city’s police officers will be needed for the

event along with some from other jurisdictions. Develop a deployment plan

that distributes the officers throughout the affected area, preferably in

biracial or diverse teams. Encourage officers to be friendly and outgoing. 

Instruct officers to prevent problems from occurring by keeping animals

out of the site, keeping traffic moving, and avoiding actions that would

create attention and generate rumors. Tow trucks should be moving

continuously through the area to tow stalled cars or illegally parked cars 

that block traffic. The lot to where cars are towed should be nearby so
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that the tow trucks can return to the site quickly. Cars can be recovered

more quickly and easily if they are towed to a close site, lessening tensions

and hard feelings. 

 When arrests are required, those arrested should be moved out of the

site quickly, quietly, and with as little force as possible. Special arrest

extraction teams and SWAT teams, especially those wearing or carrying

riot gear, should be kept out of sight and moved carefully to avoid creating

tensions with visitors. 

Total Coordination of City Services. The arrival of large

numbers of visitors for a major event will require advance planning to

ensure that bathroom facilities, drinking water, medical facilities, and

additional trash containers are provided. This may be a heavy burden on

the affected departments and require temporary use of personnel from

other departments of the city. Volunteers from other departments can fill

critical gaps in the schedule. Every city or county employee should be

considered as a potential resource. Use the event as a team building

experience that will bring employees and departments closer together.

Make special T-shirts for the city employees for the event and all similar

events.

Plenty of trash cans should be made available to contain and

dispose of all refuse. 

Develop a City Welcome Brochure. The welcome brochure

should contain a greeting from the mayor, a map of the traffic plan and a

description of periods when the traffic plan will be in effect, locations of

water, medical, bathroom facilities, and the tow lot. Include telephone

numbers for police, emergency services, and the towing services. Include

information on local laws that will be enforced. An ending time for the

event should be faxed and announced to allow city services to return to 
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order for the next workday.

Use the Internet to Keep Event Participants and Regular

Tourists Informed About Event Activities. Post information about

events in your city on the city web site. The welcome brochure, traffic

plan, towing policy, costs of towing, and local laws should all be posted on

the web site. In addition, city officials and police should monitor student

organization web sites and selected chat rooms in which students exchange

information about the upcoming event. This information will be useful in

preparing an effective traffic plan and preparing law enforcement for the

event.

“For a tourist town, it is a real problem for one crowd

to dominate.”

Thomas E. Leath

City Manager

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Activities During the Event
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Police Patrols and Enforcement Activity. The first major goal of

all police activity will be implementing the traffic plan. The second goal

will be to enforce the local laws and prevent conflicts from occurring. The

policies governing these activities should be no different from those at

other times of the year. Keep the snakes, dogs, and exotic animals and

birds out of the event area, as they draw attention and create the potential

for crowd control problems. Have ordinances in place year-round and

publish them well in advance and in the welcome brochure. Post ordinance

signs during the event and in hotel rooms.

Use plainclothes officers to reduce the number of uniforms among

the crowd. Participants may become uneasy if they feel there is an

excessive police presence. The majority of uniformed officers should be in

marked cars directing traffic and on visible patrol. Use enough uniformed

officers to let the crowd know that police are present to help maintain

order, but not to raise crowd tensions. Be sensitive to how the crowds are

responding to your officers. Use plainclothes officers and volunteers to

help monitor and report on the mood and behavior of the crowd. A video

surveillance system, if available, can help command officers gain an overall

picture of the event and make appropriate deployment decisions. 

 Lewd behavior and other acts of public exhibitionism may occur. 

People will try to videotape this behavior and crowds will be drawn to the

area. Disrobing women are vulnerable to theft of clothes, purses, money,

and sexual attacks. Officers can prevent this by maintaining regular patrols

of diverse teams of officers throughout the area who take action

immediately. Plainclothes officers should be firm and fair. Make arrests

only when absolutely necessary and use extraction teams to remove those

arrested quickly out of the area. The volunteer police, police chaplains,

and community teams will be very helpful in encouraging youth to behave
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appropriately. They can say and do a lot to ease tensions in these

situations. 

If stage performers engage in lewd behavior, expect it to be 

mimicked throughout the crowd. The situation may deteriorate into an

uncontrollable situation, if you attempt to make arrests in the crowd. 

Instead, inform the performers in advance that any disrobing or lewd

behavior will result in their removal and arrest. Enforce this strictly.

The biggest challenge will come from local people who use the

event as cover for criminal activities. The large number of people allows

criminals to mix in while the police are busy with crowd and traffic control. 

Keep Traffic Moving. Typically between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.

the police need to control cruising. There are minimal arrests during this

period. When traffic stops moving, crowd control issues arise; tempers can

flare and fights start, and pedestrian traffic can swell beyond capacity.

Crime tends to increase during these situations. Remove parked cars that

block traffic immediately. Do not allow double parking. Do not allow cars

traveling in opposite directions to stop so occupants can talk with one

another. Students will cruise, but keep them moving. Instruct your

officers to be firm, but remain pleasant in their demeanor. When cars are

towed, ensure that all officers and volunteers know where towed cars are

taken and give them clear instructions to hand out to dispossessed 

motorists.

Employee and Volunteer Schedules. Keep the volunteer

schedule reasonable. Do not underestimate the wear and tear of such

events on volunteers. Shifts of 10-12 hours may be routine for employees

during these events, but a 4-hour shift for volunteers is more reasonable.

Be sure that employees and volunteers are well fed. Arrange for a
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central food station (sandwiches, chips, cookies, and sodas or juice may be

all that is needed). If possible, arrange for hot meals; but at least have the

basics available. Rotate staff from their stations to get rest, go to the

bathroom, and get something to eat and drink. During the summer it is

especially important to ensure that staff has enough fluids. Hotel and motel

associations or other community organizations may offer welcome 

hospitality rooms.

Trash. Ensure that sufficient trash cans and temporary receptacles

are placed throughout the event area and that extra receptacles are placed

in the heaviest visitor traffic areas. Check the trash cans regularly. Remove

and tie-off full bags and place them nearby for later pickup. Replace with

fresh bags. This will help keep your event area clean and encourage the

visitors to be neat and clean. Arrange for trash to be picked up a couple of

times during the event during periods when the fewest number of people

will be present. Between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m. and mid-afternoon before car

and pedestrian traffic gets heavy, will probably be the best times for trash

pickup.

City street sweepers and trash trucks can be posted at key locations 

clearly visible from the event site near the ending time of the event. This

will signal the conclusion of the event and the start of the clean up and

unblocking of roads to get the city back into shape for the next work day.

Use of the Community Relations Service, U.S. Department of

Justice. CRS deploy biracial teams to event sites to assist in identifying

potential conflict situations and to facilitate communication between event

organizers, visitors and law enforcement. CRS can provide guidance on

preventing conflict and restoring calm, and facilitating communication

among the community, visitors, and officials. 
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After-Event Activities

Get the City Back in Order as Soon as Possible. By the end of

a special events activity, the community will be ready to take a breather and

recover. Return to normal traffic patterns as soon as possible. Have street

sweepers and sanitation workers clean streets and remove trash as soon as

possible, beginning immediately after the event.

Ensure that city employees and police get rest. All of those who

helped with your event, from volunteers to police, will be tired. Set a

schedule that will bring fresh officers and employees to work when the

normal routine returns and allow the others to get rest. You will need many

of these same people next year. Be sure to take care of them so that they

will be ready to join the team for the next event.

Survey Opinions of Workers and Volunteers. Immediately after

the event ask everyone to record their thoughts and recommendations. 

Arrange for each department head and other leaders to fully debrief the

experience. Report findings to the city manager, mayor and other officials. 

Be Sure to Thank Everyone. City officials and the Chief of Police

should thank all leaders, volunteers, organizations, and outside departments

who contributed to the success of the event. Do this as soon as possible

after the event.
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“It was amazing how many of the problems were

identical between all of the cities despite their

differences . . .”

Roger “Bo” Quiroga

Mayor

Galveston, Texas
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Communities with Experience

in Major Event Planning

Asbury Park and Belmar, New Jersey. For more than 25

years, Greekfest Weekend has been an unsponsored annual week-long event in

which 30,000 to 70,000 members of African American and Latino fraternities and

sororities from across the country come together for a celebration at the

Monmouth County, New Jersey, shores. The main event attended by

approximately 100,000 members starts in the Fairmont park area of Philadelphia

(see description of the Philadelphia event below) as an officially sponsored event. 

It usually ends on Saturday night in early June, and many members want then to

spend a relaxing weekend at the shore.

For the first 25 years this gathering was held in the Belmar area of New

Jersey. After a concerted effort, it was moved in 1997 from Belmar to Asbury

Park, where it was welcomed enthusiastically. The Monmouth County

Prosecutor’s Office and the Monmouth County Human Relations Commission of

New Jersey have worked proactively with the attendees and law enforcement.

Lessons Learned

• Law Enforcement

Police should have available a large number of officers ready to

report within minutes if an emergency develops. Put plainclothes

officers in the crowd to handle assaults and to catch more criminals. 

This also cuts down the number of visible uniforms in the crowd. 

Use shift schedules for police officers to lessen fatigue on hot

afternoons and late at night. A helicopter can be used to 

videotape the event for review and planning purposes. Avoid
29

having too many officers in riot gear appearing in the area, because

it creates crowd tension. 

• Traffic Plans

Police set up temporary digital road signs alongside the road several

days before the event to alert drivers of road changes during the

upcoming event. Municipal planners alerted mass transportation

authorities of the event so that they had enough cars on the nearby

light rail system and buses on routes to the event site.

• Literature

Municipal planners developed a welcome brochure with maps and a

copy of local laws that would be enforced. 

• Public Works

A specific ending time on Sunday afternoon was set. Street

sweepers and garbage trucks were parked in conspicuous visible

spots about half hour before ending time to signal to visitors that it

was time to leave and to take advantage of the special traffic plans. 

Atlanta, Georgia. Black College Spring Break began in 1982

when eight college students from Washington, D.C., organized a picnic in

John A. White Park, a small park in Southwest Atlanta. In 1983 the “the

D.C. Metro Club,” consisting of 50-60 students, held activities on the

Atlanta University Campus and named the Spring Break Weekend

“Freaknik.” By1988 it had grown to fill Piedmont Park and downtown

Atlanta streets, impacting traffic and emergency responses by police, fire

and rescue personnel. It became a car cruising event drawing students from
30

many States resulting in traffic gridlock, destruction of hotel rooms, lewd

behavior, and crime. In 1993, the mayor of Atlanta, rejected the event and

many hotels did not accept reservations from Black youth. The youths

came nevertheless, and the city has worked hard to create a positive

environment renaming it “Black College Weekend,” and introducing the

Sweet Auburn Festival. A local Black college has sponsored a job fair,

which has drawn up to 70,000 serious youths. The city has enacted

special traffic plans and patrols to address traffic congestion and

“Freaknik” behavior, improving both the reception and outcome of the

event.

Lessons Learned

• Law Enforcement

 At the beginning of each year police commanders must block off

the third weekend in April and advise officers that they should

expect to be working during that time. 

The Police Department should have a statistician on-duty during the

event to document all arrests and citations, so that the department

can identify specific patterns of criminal activity. Most of those

arrested were local. However, some gangs came from as far away

as California. Statistics were faxed into headquarters every two

hours. They were compiled to show resident, non-resident,

juvenile, adult, felony, and misdemeanor arrests. When there were

mass arrests, processing was done away from the event area. When

cars were impounded and towed or when people were arrested, an

information sheet on recovering their cars or their court dates was
31

provided. The municipal courts were open on Saturday and

Sunday during the event to accommodate visitors.

• Traffic Plan

After precinct commanders met and developed the traffic plan,

they presented the plan to the mayor’s staff and city council

members. Once approved, it was presented to other law

enforcement agencies, media, clergy, and neighborhood and

community groups. The plan was modified again after consulting

with other law enforcement agencies and the community. A hotline

was established to help local residents get to other important events

such as weddings and funerals. The hotline was also used to dispel

rumors.

 

• Volunteers

 The Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs and the Atlanta Police

Department Chaplaincy created a “Friendship Team” to act as

goodwill ambassadors for Black College Spring Break. The Team

served as the official welcome committee for college students. The

Team maintained a presence throughout event venues and other 

sites in the city, local malls, Underground Atlanta, parks, and main

traffic corridors. The Team also acted as additional eyes and ears

throughout the city, reporting suspicious activity and behavior to

police immediately. Friendship Teams came from all areas of

Atlanta, and were divided into venue teams. Bright-colored Tshirts and caps identified team members. The Team’s shirt and cap

were shown to all police officers at a police roll call on the day of

the event to ensure that the team was recognized by all police
32

officers. Team members were required to attend an orientation

session. Orientation included a discussion of the mission and duties

of the Team, role of team leaders, information on venues,

interpersonal skills, and safety. A Friendship Team Command

Center was established for registration, daily briefings throughout

the event, and communication from venues. Communication from

each venue was reported hourly or as needed. Reports included:

crowd information, incidents, city service needs, and meals for team

members.

• Event Planning

A Special Events Committee was established to plan for this and

similar events. The committee was composed of representatives of

the police department, MARTA transit police and operations

personnel, city services departments (public works, sanitation,

parks and recreation, traffic, and transportation), Emergency

Medical Service, fire department, and the representatives and

sponsors of the event. The chief of police advised the command

staff of the city administration’s position on policing the event.

From this the traffic plan was developed for cruising and noncruising routes during the event.

• Media

One person should brief media on the event and that person needs

to be kept informed throughout the event.

Daytona Beach, Florida. Black College Reunion (BCR) has
33

been held for more than 20 years. Started by students from the Bethune

Cookman College in Daytona Beach, it now attracts students from colleges

other than traditional Black Schools. This event also attracts non-students,

who come for the three-day event, held the last week of March or the first

week of April. This event attracts from 100,000 to 200,000 participants

each year. What was once a Black event, is now an event which draws

more diverse participation. 

Lessons Learned

• Law Enforcement

The Chief of Police has applied the principles of communitypolicing and problem-solving policing to guide the response to this

event. He stresses tolerance as a way of dealing with event-goers.

• Volunteers and Community Participation

The use of volunteers is a major asset. They are called the

AMBASSADORS and the GOD SQUAD. The police department's

chaplain actively involved local clergy as police chaplains and

recruited involvement of police chaplains from cities where many of

the visiting youths resided. 

• Event Planning

The event in 2000 was planned for and organized by the

coordinated efforts from the City of Daytona Beach, the Police

Department, the Sheriff's Department, the Motel/Hotel Association,

Visitor's Bureau, Bethune-Cookman College, promoters, and the
34

community. The successful result of this planning created a

"welcome atmosphere" for visitors and an invitation to return.

Galveston, Texas. The Galveston Beach Party was first

celebrated in 1985 by a small number of mostly African American college

students from the South East Texas region. Originally named KAPPA

weekend and KAPPA beach party. The event grew as did the problems

and challenges. During the 1992 event a Galveston police officer shot and

killed a man. Racial tensions rose when the media and victims family

charged that the officer used unnecessary lethal force. Public awareness of

the event grew as did negative attitudes toward many of the partying

visitors who were not even KAPPAS or college students. With major

increases in law enforcement and city resources for the event, violence was

reduced in 1999 with no shootings or stabbings reported among the

160,000 visitors. There was more interest shown in attending organized

events. Also, the police use of non-confrontational techniques reduced the

possibility of conflict with all participants. 

Lessons Learned

• Law Enforcement

The police department deployed a traveling jail bus that moved

where it was needed to pick up persons arrested. Officers did not

have to leave the beach where they were needed. This maintained

an adequate ratio of officers to visitors.
35

• Traffic Plan

The city developed a comprehensive traffic plan to accommodate

residents who lived near the beach and emergency vehicles. This

kept the traffic moving and prevented congestion. The city also

provided shuttle service into the entertainment district to reduce

traffic congestion.

• Entertainment District

In 1999, the city of Galveston applied to the State of Texas Land

Office to form an entertainment district on its seawall. They

planned to use a promoter to defray the taxpayer costs which had

been a major complaint in the past. In 2000, the city charged

$20.00 per car to drive through the entertainment district on the

event weekend. There was no charge for pedestrians entering the

district.

Grand Strand, South Carolina (Atlantic, Myrtle, and

North Myrtle Beach). For many years on Memorial Weekend the

City of Atlantic Beach has hosted a Bikefest which attracts large numbers

of motorcycle enthusiasts. Between 1994 and 1999, the event grew

significantly, and 100,000 attended in 1999. Along with the small area

within the boundaries of Atlantic Beach, the participants of Bikefest began

using other areas of the Grand Strand, particularly North Myrtle Beach and

South Myrtle Beach. This resulted in severe traffic congestion on the only

highway running along the beach.

In 1992, traffic problems in the North Myrtle Beach area became so

severe that law enforcement developed a plan to stage officers within

Atlantic Beach in an attempt to control traffic and encroaching crowds of
36

pedestrians. In 1997, the traffic problems and reports of unlawful conduct

continued to be serious. In 1998, the cities of Myrtle Beach and North

Myrtle Beach requested State law enforcement assistance. 

Lessons Learned

• Law Enforcement

Visiting officers were given a package of information about the city

and the Chief of Police personally briefed every officer on what to

expect. They were told to enforce laws fairly and evenly. Officers

were told that the event was not a normal summer night. Outside

officers were paired with local officers. Businesses and hotels were

asked to police their own sites and to help make people feel

welcomed.

The Chiefs of Police of Myrtle Beach, Atlantic Beach, and North

Myrtle Beach embraced the concept of community-policing to

guide their response to the event. They issued directives and

guidance in their contingency plans, which were distributed to all

law enforcement agencies working the event. CRS provided

training on community relations, police-community relationships,

and working events with large numbers of participants. 

• Traffic Plan

A new traffic plan with reserved lanes for emergency vehicles

seemed to break up the crowd and had a calming effect. It allowed

full emergency vehicle access throughout the beach area.
37

• Volunteers and Community Participation

 A Friendship Team was patterned after the one used in Atlanta,

Georgia. Membership in the Friendship Team increased from eight

people the first year to 130 in 1999. The goal for 2000 was 500

volunteers. The formation of the volunteer group called THE

FRIENDSHIP TEAM was a major "calming effect" for the event

when it was established in 1999. CRS assisted in the field and

classroom training of the volunteers. 

• Event Planning

All local governments and law enforcement agencies are part of a

Memorial Day Task Force, which includes the Hotel/Motel

Association, the Chamber of Commerce organizations, and other

business organizations. The Task Force starts planning for the next

event as soon as the current one ends. The Task Force also

includes community people, which adds other perspectives to the

planning process. Community participation was essential because

of racial tensions over allegations of excessive police responses to a

"Black event".

The State of South Carolina's law enforcement response for this 

event is coordinated on the local, State, and Federal levels through

the command center. The Community Relations Service provided

contingency planning assistance to all of the public and private

groups in organizing and preparing for handling the large numbers

of people.
38

• Entertainment

City sponsored entertainment on the beachfront was effective, but

off-site entertainment presented problems. City and business

organizations are learning how to target items for sale to the large

youth market that exists each year. 

• Businesses and Hotels

Myrtle Beach merchants and hoteliers in 1999 accepted the event

and presented a "welcome" attitude for visitors, creating a positive

climate. 

Quincy and Gretna, Florida. The music festival began as a

small party sponsored by a college Greek organization in Quincy near

Tallahassee. In five years it grew into an event drawing 25,000 people to a

rural farm with a large stage for music group performances. Participants

have parked for miles along rural roads near the event. The event had been

conducted without a traffic plan and with minimal need for law

enforcement to direct traffic. Law enforcement activity had centered on

security for performers and the stage, underage drinking, driving while

intoxicated, and public lewdness. The event will be moving to a large site

in Gretna in 2000.

Lessons Learned

• Law Enforcement

Law enforcement learned that lewd behavior by participants was

directly associated with the behavior of stage performers. If

performers behaved lewdly or removed their clothes, some
39

participants would mimic the behavior creating crowd control

problems. To control the situation, law enforcement immediately

removed performers from the stage who included lewd behavior or

public nudity in their performance. Advising performers of the

policy of removing lewd performers is now standard policy.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1974, a small group of

African American college students and fraternity and sorority members

decided to have an annual picnic in a small park in the Germantown section

of Philadelphia. Today it has become one of the largest college fetes in the

Nation. The most recent event brought as many as 100,000 participants to

Fairmount Park’s Belmont Plateau for the culmination of a series of weeklong events.

During the last several years, however, despite the planned events

in Fairmount Park, other more spontaneous weekend celebrations drew

significant numbers of young adults to cruise streets and flock to the South

Street area.

While the Fairmont Park provided a large and expansive venue for

the Greeks, the South Street business corridor and Center City Philadelphia

was not conducive for such an influx of people and had the potential for

public safety problems. The number of arrests for serious incidents

increased significantly over the last few years bringing along a new

phenomena called “whirling.” Whirling incidents occur when a female is

surrounded by a group and sexually assaulted, groped, or stripped of

clothing. In most cases these incidents occur within a public area and

sometimes within a few feet of the police, who, because of the large

crowds, are unable to affect an arrest or prevent such an occurrence.
40

Planning begins in the Spring. Based upon previous years’ events,

police commanders are in almost daily contact with community and

business leaders to discuss traffic related detours, street closures, security,

and crowd control measures. Public service announcements as well as

traffic service reports are broadcast in the days leading up to the weekend

and on the day of the event. Police focus on ensuring access to all events

and providing safety and protection to the Greeks and their guests.

 More than 1,200 uniformed and plainclothes officers were

deployed throughout the event sites. The heavy vehicular traffic

downtown virtually shut down traffic and by 1 a.m. there were 15,000

pedestrians in a seven-block area. As a result, there were several

unfortunate “whirling” incidents reported.

There have been no legal challenges or prohibitions to the

Philadelphia events. Experience has shown that generally “Greeks” were

not involved in criminal activity and that of those arrested most were local

youths and had not attended college; about half were juveniles. In 2000

the Greeks plan to scale back and offer only private events to members.

Lessons Learned 

• Law Enforcement

The city deployed a combination of volunteers and police in

monitoring potential problem areas. In recent years, police began 

videotaping the event site by helicopter at different times during the

event to use as training for police and volunteers the following year. 

This was used to show typical crowds at different points and

specific times for appropriate deployment of police and volunteers. 

Videotaping at the site itself has helped to reduce crime, because
41

those who have potentially come to commit crime or engage in wild

behavior realize that they are being taped and that the existence of

the tapes will help in their identifications and arrests.

Disruptive behavior occurred despite plans by the City of

Philadelphia and event organizers to stage events at several venues

in order to spread the crowds out and avoid traffic gridlock. The

Greek picnic brings about $8.5 million into the local economy and

costs about $900,000 for police overtime over the three-day

weekend.

The Philadelphia Municipal Court has established a highly

successful Nuisance Court at the Third Police District, which

covers the South Street Corridor. It addresses unruly behavior.

• Official Welcome for Visitors

Elected officials accepted the event and welcomed attendees. This

created a positive atmosphere.

Virginia Beach, Virginia. As early as 1980, groups of

predominantly Black students gathered at Croatan Beach, in a residential 

area, for a traditional beach party. The event started by word of mouth by

students from various universities. In 1985, the event began to take a more

organized appearance and promoters of individual events became involved. 

Local residents expressed concern that Croatan lacked public facilities, was

too confined, and was not an adequate place for the event. In 1986,

problems increased because of the lack of facilities and an increase in
42

attendance to about 8,000 people. In 1987, the event moved to the resort

area and the large city-owned Pavilion was used for 7,500 people without

incident. In 1988, the 7,500 person capacity of the Pavilion was reached

and there was still more than 3,000 people pressing to get in. The 1988

crowd, estimated at 40,000, filled local venues to capacity and caused

damage to city property. During September in 1988, the city began

planning for the 1989 event, communicating with Pan Hellenic Councils

and local universities and researching how other cities were handling

similar events. The city created the Beachfront Events Committee, which

developed plans for handling large oceanfront crowds and recommended to

promoters of Greekfest that the event move to a large regional facility; but

this did not occur. Police officers received additional human relations and

stress management training and extra officers were assigned to the resort

area. Visitors were informed of local public safety ordinances. During

Labor Day weekend in 1989, as more than 100,000 people crowded the

streets, traffic became gridlocked and behavior problems flared. As

tensions mounted late-night rioting occurred, resulting in violence and

looting. Damages were estimated at $1.9 million. The city, and especially

the police department, was criticized by both participants and citizens for

its handling of the situation.

The city appointed an independent Labor Day Review commission

to investigate the problems and recommended a strategy for future events. 

Public hearings allowed the community to express concerns and share

suggestions. A Labor Day Community Coordination Committee and a

Labor Day Task Force Office was created to lead the planning and

implementation. Members of the police department visited campuses of

historically black universities and student leaders participated in a three-day

planning summit. Information about “Laborfest ‘90" was distributed to
43

student organizations. The National Black Police Officers Association and

local clergy provided voluntary assistance to Virginia Beach Police. 

Crowd sizes were similar to those of 1989, but pre-planning resulted in a

weekend free of major incidents.

Cooperative planning and improvements have continued since

1990. The City Council appointed a Human Rights Commission in 1991. 

Several other special teams and programs such as a community/visitor

relations team related to the event have been created. Improvements to

city property to improve the situation during Labor Day weekend have

been accomplished.

Lessons Learned

• Law Enforcement

The police department simplified and began publishing the

procedure for filing complaints against police officers. Now, a 

citizen panel reviews internal investigations when a citizen is not

satisfied with the police department’s findings. The pamphlets are

distributed at all police department facilities and through the public

libraries, including a braille version for the visually impaired. In the

future, the pamphlets may be made available through the city visitor

center.

The Police Department has made numerous significant changes

including rewriting the Civil Disturbance Mobilization Plan;

redesigning the Mobile Tactics approach to handle a problem while

it is still small and confined; and implementing specialized training

in crowd management, cultural diversity, and stress management. 
44

Equipment improvements include a sophisticated video system that

serves as a crime deterrent, to monitor traffic, to find lost children,

and to apprehend criminals.

• Traffic Plan

Traffic management plans included satellite parking, free public

trolley transportation, and other initiatives to reduce traffic

congestion. The city instituted a Youth Intervention Team, made up

of young adults, which served as a role model and provided youth

with information on events and activities. This helped to reduce

tension between youths.

• Volunteers

City officials reached out to Greek organizations and college

campuses for assistance, developed a volunteer program, solicited

help from the Black Police Officers Association, City Human Rights

Commission, and formed a Citizens Advisory Committee. 

• Training of City Employees included law enforcement personnel.

The city conducts on-going training across all departments with

special programs for police officers, which include cultural diversity

awareness, crowd management, mob psychology, stress

management, and crisis and critical incident management. The

police department no longer uses outside police departments to

assist them, and only assigns additional police officers and police

chaplains from their own department.

• Entertainment and Business Policies
45

Organized special events, improved parking, consistent hotel

registration and guest policies, and other pro-active initiatives have

improved the situation.
46

Spring Break/Special Events

 Conference Participants

Atlanta, Georgia – September 28-29, 1999

Community Relations Service Staff

Thomas Battles, Senior Conciliation Specialist, Miami, Florida

Daryl Borgquist, Media Affairs Officer, Washington, D.C.

Abigail Brown, Conciliation Specialist, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jonathan Chace, Associate Director, Washington, D.C.

Robert Ensley, Contract Conciliation Specialist, Macon, Georgia

Gustavo Gaynett, Field Office Director, Detroit, Michigan

Patricia Glenn, Northeast Regional Director, New York, New York

Moses Jones, Senior Conciliation Specialist, New York, New York

Efrain Martinez, Senior Conciliation Specialist, Houston, Texas

Henry Mitchum, Acting Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Richard Sambrano, Acting Southwest Regional Director, Dallas, Texas

Ernie Stallworth, Senior Conciliation Specialist, Atlanta, Georgia

Ozell Sutton, Southeast Regional Director, Atlanta, Georgia

Jesse Taylor, Midwest Regional Director, Chicago Illinois

Lawrence Turner, Senior Conciliation Specialist, Boston, Massachusetts

Asbury Park/Belmar, New Jersey Team

Lieutenant Edward Kirschenbaum, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Freehold,

New Jersey

Sargent Louis Jordan, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Freehold, New Jersey

Tom Daniels, Monmouth County Chairman, Oakhurst, New Jersey

Wilbert Russell, City Manager, Asbury Park, New Jersey

Atlanta, Georgia, Team

Michael Langford, Director, Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, Atlanta, Georgia

Kevin Lewis, Chaplain, Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, Atlanta, Georgia
47

Myrtice Taylor, Community Analyst, Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, Atlanta,

Georgia

Bonnie Ward, Office Manager, Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, Atlanta, Georgia

Columbus, Ohio Team

Ron Michalec, Chief of Police, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Rev. Aron Wheeler, Executive Assistant, Department of Public Safety, Columbus, Ohio

Daytona Beach, Florida Team

Lieutenant Michael Aucu, Miami Beach, Florida

Greg Austin, Charlotte, North Carolina

Thomas Copeland, Daytona Beach, Florida

Edward Dixon,. Florida Commission on Human Relations, Tallahassee, Florida

Greg Durden, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Larry Edwards, Chaplain, Daytona Beach Police Department, Daytona, Florida

Veronica Harrell James, Chief, Civil Rights, Civil Enforcement Section, Office of the

U.S. Attorney, Miami, Florida

Curtis Lee, Civil Rights Unit, Attorney General’s Office, Tampa, Florida 

Dr. Claudette McFadden, Bethune Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Florida

Awen Ra, Student, Daytona Beach, Florida

Michael Rutledge, Assistant Chief, Community Affairs Unit, Jacksonville Sheriff’s

Office, Jacksonville, Florida

Cynthia Slatten, First Vice President, NAACP, Daytona Beach, Florida

Kenneth Small, Chief of Police, Daytona Beach, Florida

Galveston, Texas, Team

Recy Dunn, President, African-American Chamber of Commerce, Galveston, Texas

Steve LeBlanc, City Manager, Galveston, Texas

Roger “Bo” Quiroga, Mayor, Galveston, Texas

Kim Schoolcraft, Chief of Police, Galveston, Texas

Grand Strand, South Carolina Teams
48

Irene Armstrong, Atlantic Beach, South Carolina

Stephen P. Bates, Chief of Staff, South Carolina Dept. of Public Safety, Columbia, South

Carolina

Steve Birnie, Chief of Staff, South Carolina Dept. of Probation, Columbia, South

Carolina

Earl F. Brown, Jr., Executive Assistant for Internal Affairs, South Carolina Human

Affairs Commission, Columbia, South Carolina

Beverly Clark, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Frank Eagles, Chief of Police, Atlantic Beach, South Carolina

Warren Gall, Chief of Police, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Sid Gaulden, Director of Executive Affairs, South Carolina Dept. of Public Safety,

Columbia, South Carolina

Dr. Willis Ham, Commissioner, South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, Columbia,

South Carolina

Major Joseph H. Hood, South Carolina Dept. of Public Safety, Columbia, South Carolina

Thomas E. Leath, City Manager, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Mervyl McMillan, Town Manager, Atlantic Beach, South Carolina

Michael Nichols, Coordinator of Special Events, South Carolina Dept of Probation,

Columbia, South Carolina

David Richardson, Director, Community Development, Atlantic Beach, South

Carolina

Robert Stewart, Chief, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Columbia, South

Carolina

Captain Clifton Weir, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Columbia, South

Carolina

Special Agent Sonny Williams, Community Relations, South Carolina Human Affairs

Commission, Columbia, South Carolina

Crain Woods, Councilman, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Gretna/Quincy, Florida Team

David Ganious, Jr., Quincy, Florida

Charles Hayes, Gretna, Florida

Marlon Ivey, Tampa, Florida
49

Barry Moore, Quincy, Florida

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Team

Frank Pryor, Chief Inspector, Patrol Bureau, Philadelphia Police Department

Dexter Green, Chief Inspector, Special Operations Bureau, Philadelphia

Police Department

Joseph O’Connor, Lieutenant, Patrol Bureau, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eugene Cummings, Lieutenant, Patrol Bureau, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Virginia Beach, Virginia Team

C. Oral Lambert, Jr., Chief Operating Officer, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Chief A.M. Jacocks, Interim Chief of Police, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Mary Pat Fortier, Executive Director, Virginia Beach Hotel/Motel Assn.

Colonel Cornell Fuller, Ret., Virginia Beach NAACP

Mr. Les Lilley, City Attorney, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Joshua Edwards, Ph.D., Chair, Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission

James Ricketts, Director, Convention and Visitor Development, Virginia Beach,

Virginia

Ronald Hampton, National Black Police Assn., Washington, D.C.

Other Participants

Cassandra Black, President Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc., Dallas, Texas

Richard Snow, Director, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
50

CRS Offices

Community Relations Service

600 E Street, NW, Suite 2000

Washington, D.C. 20530

202/305-2935

202/305-3009 FAX

CRS Regional and Field Offices

Community Relations Service Community Relations Service

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice

408 Atlantic Avenue #220 26 Federal Plaza, Suite 36-118

Boston, MA 02201 New York, NY 10278

617/424-5715 212/264-2143

617/424-5727 FAX

Community Relations Service Community Relations Service

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Custom House 75 Piedmont Avenue, NE, Room 900

2

nd and Chestnut Streets, Room 208 Atlanta, GA 30303

Philadelphia, PA 19106 404/331-6883

215/597-2344 404/331-4471 FAX

215/597-9148 FAX

Community Relations Service Community Relations Service

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice

55 West Monroe Street, Suite 420 1420 West Mockingbird Lane, Suite 250

Chicago, IL 60603 Dallas, TX 75247

312/353-4391 214/655-8175

312/353-4390 FAX 214/655-8184
51

Community Relations Service Community Relations Service

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice

1100 Main Street, Suite 1320 1244 Speer Blvd. Suite 650

Kansas City, MO 64106 Denver, CO 80204-3584

816/426-7434 303/844-2973

816/426-7441 FAX 303/844-2907 FAX

Community Relations Service Community Relations Service

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice

888 South Figueroa Street, Suite 1880 915 Second Avenue, Room 1808

Los Angeles, CA 90017 Seattle, WA 98174

213/894-2941 206/220-6700

213/894-2880 FAX 206/220-6706

CRS Field Offices

Community Relations Service Community Relations Service

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice

51 S.W. First Avenue, Suite 624 211 West Fort Street, Suite 1404

Miami, FL 33130 Detroit, MI 48226

305/536-5206 313/226-4010

305/536-6778 FAX 313/536-6778 FAX

Community Relations Service Community Relations Service

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice

515 Rusk Avenue 120 Howard Street, Suite 790

Houston, TX 77002 San Francisco, CA 94105

713/718-4861 415/744-6565

713/718-4862 FAX 415/744-6590 FAX

CRS Website: http://www.usdoj.gov/crs
52

CRS Customer Service Standards

• Our goal is to provide sensitive and effective conflict prevention

and resolution services. You can expect us to meet the following

standards when we work with you:

• We will clearly explain the process that CRS uses to address racial

and ethnic conflicts and our role in that process.

• We will provide opportunities for all parties involved to contribute

to and work toward a solution to the racial or ethnic conflict.

• If you are a participant in a CRS training session or conference, you

will receive timely and useful information and materials that will

assist you in preventing or minimizing racial and ethnic tensions. If

you would like more information, we will work with you to identify

additional materials and resources to meet your needs within three

weeks of learning your need.

• We will be prepared to provide on-site services in major racial or

ethnic crisis situations within 24 hours from the time when your

community notifies CRS or CRS becomes aware of the crisis.

• In non-crisis situations, we will contact you within three days of

when your community notifies CRS or CRS becomes aware of the

situation to discuss your request for CRS services.
53

“If a non-sanctioned event is coming to your town, you

have to be prepared for it.”

Thomas E. Leath

City Manager

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

CRS Website: www.usdoj.gov/crs
54

Spring Break/Special Event Checklist

[Instructions: Using this publication you can prepare your own checklist of activities to

do before, during, and after the event that will be held in your community.]

Pre-Event Activities

9 Establish a budget 

9 Hold a public forum 

9 Establish a traffic plan 

9 Work in advance with media 

9 Training for all event service providers

9 Recruit and train volunteers

9 Establish friendship teams

9 Community involvement

9 Training for Police

9 Command post and coordination of all services

9 Other _____________________________
55

Activities During the Event

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________
56

After-Event Activities

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________

9 _________________________
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Additional Notes

Useful Community Relations Service Publications can be found at:

www.usdoj.gov/crs
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