Discovering the Real Value in Identifying Fans Involved in Incidents

Incident Management is Easier with Integrated Fan Identity

Most security teams using a text conversation system at an event will tell you that fans are an important source of incident reports to security teams.

But does your security team know the identity of the reporting individual at the time a report is filed?

Probably not.

Also, how much time do security supervisors spend attempting to verify the identity of the fans involved in incidents?

The answer is probably given in hours.

Today, the largest source of fan identity information is the box office or CRM.

But ticketing and fan experience departments are busy during games and cannot always dedicate time to supporting security teams.

Additionally, some organizations don’t understand the value of reviewing identity until it’s too late.

To make matters worse, the digitalization of tickets, privacy policies, and compliance laws further complicate requests for fan identity.

In this environment, security and fan experience teams need an easier way to identify fans to reduce risk and respond to incidents quickly and appropriately.

Identify Associated Persons in the Incident Management System (IMS)

No one knows better than a venue security team, how quickly an event or game-day incident can escalate.

Yet, guards are often deployed to a situation with little information about the reporting or reported individuals they are about to interact with.

Some security teams have identified the importance of accessing identity information in real-time to identify individuals before engaging.

But most security teams still wait until contact before asking for identity information from the involved fans.

By this point, many fans are uncooperative.

The situation is made even more difficult by privacy and compliance laws that limit what private security professionals can request from an event attendee.

The fact that almost all ticketing is digital now, means there is no paper ticket to request.

Some security teams have solved this by implementing ways for their people to access ticketing information in real-time.

However, the challenges of switching between systems, and the complexity of ticketing systems, have limited the impact of these solutions.

The Motivation Behind the Push for Identity

Some leagues have implemented Fan Conduct Policies that require teams to know who is involved in an incident.

Affected fans may be required to attend a class before they are allowed to return to events league-wide.

But even without such programs, many teams have begun to recognize the impact identity awareness can have on de-escalating issues and catering responses to individuals based on their experiences.

A reverse look-up, using section, row, and seat information can let responding individuals know if they are dealing with experienced fans that are aware of stadium policies or novices who may need to be educated about the rules.

Identity can also make security teams aware of repeat offenders or fans with connections to staff or affiliated businesses.

Over To You

Utilizing an Incident Management System can help teams in the command center dispatch security team members efficiently.

Combining this system with a ticketing provider integration can help with identifying fans related to incidents.

24/7 Software’s integration with Ticketmaster helped push the new “Investigative Fan Identity” feature.

This is a fan identity search that can be accessed from the Associated Persons, or anywhere inside the IMS.

Early adopters who used this feature during the 2021-22 NFL season found many use cases for this feature that go way beyond the examples shared in this blog.

It’s worth noting that this feature can be integrated into other ticketing systems, CRMs, or any database where you store fan identity.

To keep up with the latest technology and safety measures, we recommend that security teams visit our website at https://www.247software.com/.

On our 24/7 Software + Ticketmaster testimonial page, you'll find information on  best practices for utilizing operations software and identity.

Or, if you have specific questions about using Fan Identity with Conversations, please feel free to reach out to our VP of Product, Analytics & Integrations, Matthew Dobrosevic at mdobrosevic@247software.com.