The University of Southern Mississippi National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security. Sport Event Security Aware Designation

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1 The University of Southern Mississippi National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security Sport Event Security Aware Designation Frequently Asked Questions September 2015 What is Sport Event Security Aware (SESA) designation? The NCS 4 offers Sport Event Security Aware (SESA) designation to all professional, collegiate, and event organizations, such as marathons, bowl games and other venues that own or operate sport and special event facilities/events. The SESA process is a reasonable and attainable body of safety and security standards for organizations to apply to their operations and a methodology for awarding designation to those organizations. The design and development of SESA included NCS 4 personnel (Dr. Walter Cooper, Dr. Stacey Hall, Dr. Lou Marciani, Jim McGee and Frederick Gardy) funded by grants from Mississippi Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; sport safety and security subject matter experts; the Department of Homeland Security; and the NCS 4 National Advisory Board. What are the main benefits of Sport Event Security Aware (SESA) designation? The SESA designation provides a professional benchmark with which to measure a sport event security management system. The designation process positions facility/event operators to fulfill the moral and legal duty to protect venue/event occupants-spectators, officials, competitors and employees to the highest possible degree of safety and security. The process will enhance the venue/event compliance with their sanctioning body relative to minimum safety and security

2 standards and regulatory requirements. The SESA designation process is designed to enhance resiliency capabilities to recover from financial losses, regulatory fines, loss of market share, damages to equipment or products, or business interruptions. The intent of the designation is to reduce exposure to civil or criminal liability in the event of an incident as well as enhance image and credibility with a pro-active stance in safety, security and incident management. What is the goal of SESA? The goal of SESA is to provide a tool in technology and facilitate a comprehensive approach to security and security planning, management and operations. The designation recognizes organizations that provide a safe and secure facility/event environment based on research, current best practices and lessons learned. The systematic approach in the development of the safe facility/event as they pertain to sports and special events utilizes and follow the guidance outline for National Preparedness, Whole Community, National Preparedness Goals and systems. The SESA designation indicates that an organization has engaged in planning, developing and implementing effective and sustainable safety, security and incident management systems to: Identify and assess risk Assure quality training programs Customize and implement exercise programs Explore and recommend countermeasure improvement processes What are the overall criteria for the SESA designation? Risk Assessment Phase The risk assessment phase is intended for organizations to identify risks, prepare plans, and begin working with NCS 4 on developing capabilities to designated safety and security standards. A candidate for SESA first completes a risk assessment. This is followed by NCS 4 staff visiting the location to conduct interviews with representatives of departments and organizations involved in facility/ event operations. Using the reports generated from the risk assessment, along with the organization s planning information and feedback, the candidate drafts an After-Action Report and Improvement Plan. Training Phase During the training phase, NCS 4 identifies appropriate training for each organization. Individualized training programs will include leadership, supervisory, and line staff training. The required training offering is the DHS/FEMA AWR-167 Sport Event Risk Management Course (SERM). Training requirements also include the completion of FEMA Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS-100) and National Response Framework, An Introduction (IS- 800.B) courses. As training needs are satisfied and new needs identified, the training phase will

3 evolve as required. The expectation is that organizations will view SESA and particularly the training phase as an opportunity to enhance employee capabilities, therefore improving operations. It is highly recommended that the organizational staff take MGT-404 Sports and Special Events Incident Management, MGT-412 Sports and Special Events Evacuation Training and Exercise and MGT-440 Enhanced Sports and Special Events Incident Management. Exercise Phase During the four-year continuous improvement cycle, all organizations are required to participate in an annual facilitated discussion tabletop exercise conducted by the venue/event management. Exercises are based on information obtained from after action plan. The exercise phase provides an opportunity for organizations to identify gaps and enhance relationships with their operational partners. All facility drills and exercises are developed under the auspices of Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) compliance. During on on-site visit, year (2) the NCS4 exercise will emphasize evaluation of plans, procedures and capabilities. Validation Phase During the validation phase, the assessment team will analyze plans, procedures, training and event operations. Assessment will verify that the organization adheres to an accepted body of safety and security standards of the facility/event. How should sport venue/events prepare for the SESA designation process? Sport organizations interested in the SESA designation are encouraged to review the criteria for the designation. A familiarity with the scope and complexity of the criteria will enable the agency to make an informed decision about initiating the designation process. The initial step is for the agency can submit an application. Upon receipt of the application, NCS 4 will send the agency an agreement, and a copy of the Sport Event Security Aware Candidate Handbook. NCS 4 recommends that the agency appoint an assessment manager to be assigned to coordinate the sports organization efforts. What are the steps for a sport organization to obtain SESA designation? Step 1: Initial Contact Contact NCS 4 to initiate the SESA process. Submit the SESA application to the NCS 4 Certification/Assessment Department at CertificationSupport@usm.edu. NCS 4 will issue a contract agreement for applicant organization s approval. Step 2: Preparation for SESA Assessment Once a SESA contract is signed, an organization has 12 months to submit plans, policies and procedures and complete a comprehensive review of the training program requirements. All submitted documentation will be kept securely in accordance with the NCS 4 records control policy. It is advisable for the organization to name an assessment manager. In order for the

4 review to be thorough and effective, the organization assessment manager should complete all forms and checklists provided in the Sport Event Security Aware Handbook. The organization assessment manager must prepare and maintain files containing documentation of organization s compliance. Upon completion, the organization assessment manager sends all completed documents and plans to NCS 4 and requests an onsite assessment. Step 3: Document Submission Document submission is intended for organizations to begin working with NCS 4 on developing capabilities to designated safety and security standards. The review identifies an organization s strengths and areas needing improvement, which are included in training and exercise development. The documents and plans that must be completed and sent to NCS 4 are: Completed risk assessment Completed After-Action plan Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Functional Annexes Evacuation Shelter-in-Place or Secure-in-Place Accounting for Personal Communications and Notifications Continuity of Operations (COOP) Recovery Public Health and Medical Security Rapid Assessment Threat or Hazard-Specific Annexes Severe Weather Earthquake Tornado Hazardous Material Mass Causality Active Shooter Bomb Threat or Explosion Crises Communication Plan Event Action Plan Cyber Security Plan Facility Policies and Procedures

5 NCS 4 recommends these additional materials be submitted for review: Staff Training Plan Staff Training Materials Staff Performance Evaluation Form(s) NOTE: Documentation that is submitted by an applicant organization in fulfillment of SESA designation requirements will be kept electronically on ShareFile. Files uploaded to the ShareFile drive are secured by encryption and SSL or TLS protocols and at rest using 256-bit AES encryption. All documents, plans and procedures submitted by the organization as part of the SESA application will be deleted from the ShareFile account after the designation has been awarded, or in the case that the application terminated. Documents and plans submitted to NCS 4 are reviewed by the NCS 4 Training, Exercise and Assessment Coordinator to ensure that the basic elements of safety, security, and incident management are included in an organization s plans. Once an application is reviewed by NCS 4 and approved by the assigned SESA assessors, an onsite assessment is scheduled. Step 4: Site Assessment The on-site assessment includes assessors visiting the facility in order to assess compliance with all applicable standards. This assessment includes a tour of facilities, interviews with facility personnel as well as personnel from outside organizations (present at the facility during an event) and exercise preparation. The assessors will facilitate an exercise and observe operations. Facilitated discussions and tabletop exercise will be developed based on vulnerabilities identified by assessors and concerns expressed by the organization s Assess ment Manager. Discussions and exercises are used to foster discussion between game/event partners. After Action Reports with corresponding Improvement Plans will be included in the facility s Continuous Improvement Inventory. Step 5: Designation Recognition Assessors use Continuous Improvement Inventory to record their observations. Assessors review those documents with the applicant organization before commencing the assessment. After completing the assessment, assessors conduct an exit interview with the applicant organization, providing a summary of findings. Assessors will provide feedback during that review and will provide a copy of the written assessment with their recommendations to the applicant organization.. If necessary, applicant organizations can amend any processes and procedures within 14 days of assessment visit before the Assessors written report is submitted to the NCS 4 Certification Department. The NCS 4 Certification Department reviews the assessors written report before presenting the final report to the SESA Compliance Panel. The SESA Compliance Panel will review the compliance criteria, and forward recommendation to the NCS4 Certification Commission.

6 What is the Continuous Improvement Cycle? Continuous improvement is the foundation of SESA designation. As part of the assessment process, organizations are expected to make continual improvements to their safety, security and incident management systems. The Continuous Improvement Inventory is intended to serve as a road map for organizations to use to make those improvements. The Continuous Improvement Inventory provides a set of metrics for use throughout SESA s Conti nuous Improvement Cycle. During the initial site visit, assessors use the metrics contained in the Continuous Improvement Inventory to assess the strength of a facility s safety, security, and incident management systems. It is understood that not all metrics will be in place during an initial assessment. Prior to the completion of the assessment, an organization must develop a timeline for implementing the metrics not in place at their facility. This timeline will be reflected within the explanation column of the Continuous Improvement Inventory worksheet. During Years 1 and 3 of the Continuous Improvement Cycle, the Continuous Improvement Inventory is used as a self-assessment tool by NCS 4. The expectation is that SESA assessed facilities use the inventory to self-report the improvements made to safety, security, and incident management systems since the initial site visit and assessment. During Year 2 of the Continuous Improvement Cycle, assessors make a site visit to ensure a continuous improvement cycle is practiced by the organization. The most recent Continuous Improvement Inventory submitted for the facility will be audited on site to verify metrics have been satisfied and conduct a facilitated discussion table top exercise. What are the Continuous Improvement Cycle activities? Continuing SESA assessment activities will commence 12 months after the date of initial SESA designation. The purpose of these activities will be to: Determine that the program continues to operate in conformity with the established safety and security standards; Determine that the program continues to operate as described in the documentation governing the program; and Determine if any major changes reported have affected the conformity of the program to NCS4 designation. SESA designation is awarded for a four-year period (continuous improvement cycle). During the four-year cycle continuing assessment activities include, but are not limited to: On-site assessment in year two (2) Self-assessment in years one (1) and three (3) Annual exercises facilitated by venue or event management.

7 Reassessment SESA organizations will undergo full reassessment in the fourth (4) year. The reassessment process follows the application and initial assessment process. The assessment team will consider the data from current and previous years in making their assessment decisions. Who are the assessors? Members of the assessment team are experienced sport safety and security personnel. The NCS 4 carefully screens, trains and evaluates all potential assessors. What are the fees for SESA? The fee for Sport Event Security Aware encompasses all program costs, including the on-site activities as well as evaluation of the continuous improvement plan. The SESA fee is $22,000 Additional Facility Fee: $11,500 The facility must be operated by the same management organization and under the same local jurisdiction.