For All Safety Ops Volunteers

Safety Ops is the group at the con which helps to ensure the safety of our attendees, speakers and guests against threats to their well being and to the con. Some examples are: ombudspersons, safety monitors, crowd control and sometimes security guards. Safety Ops is not EMS, law enforcement, or fire although we support and extend their reach.

Guidelines

• WE ARE NOT SECURITY. Our responsibilities are to observe and report and provide crowd control. When wearing your Public Safety gear, you represent BSidesSF; please behave accordingly.
• We are here to keep the party running smoothly and all participants happy by verbally de-escalating issues if they arise.
• This year shifts are primarily 3 hours. You are responsible for your entire shift.
• Please check in at least 20 minutes before your shift with your shift leads for a briefing and assignments.
• Please do not leave your shift until someone comes to relieve you.
• If you wear your public safety gear while not on shift, you will get asked to work.
• If you will be late or cannot make your assigned shift, call your Shift Lead or Public Safety Lead. to make arrangements as early as possible.
• While on duty, you will have some leeway to chat with people, but remember that your primary reason for being where you are is to get work done. Conversations, catching up, drinking, and goofing off are secondary to keeping people safe and secure.
• You are responsible for your assigned role until you've been relieved or re-assigned by your Shift Lead or Public Safety Lead.
• If you need a quick break (e.g., a drink or bathroom break), ask a roamer to hold your post until you return. Please keep your break short.
• If you need a more extended break (e.g., food or cigarette), contact your Shift Lead or Public Safety Lead to have someone relieve you. Please try to avoid gaps. Our staffing is very thin. We can't afford to be down a a volunteer for too long.
• Be prepared; we might cancel your break, though we will try not to.
• Crowd control for fire safety is critical. Ensure a clear path for people to walk through a given area.
• If a line or crowd forms in a hallway, ask participants to line up against the wall or spread out so that people can walk down the hallway unobstructed. Keep an eye out for potential fire hazards.
• If you see someone sitting in a stairwell, in the middle of a hallway or generally blocking other people, inform that person that they are creating a fire hazard. Kindly ask them to move somewhere out of the way.
• The general rule of thumb for crowd control is that a wheelchair must be able to get through without issues.
• If a participant or another volunteer asks you a question and you don't know the answer, do not guess. Relay the question to your Shift Lead or Public Safety Lead.
• Participants should all have visible badges. Persons in the party hall without badges should be escorted to the registration desk by a Roamer or Tanuski (Steve) to receive a badge.
• The chain of escalation is Stationary Posts -> Roamers -> Shift Lead -> Public Safety Lead -> BsidesSF Executive Staff -> Venue Security -> Police.
• You are responsible for the safety of our guests. Any intoxication that impairs your judgment also limits your ability to perform that responsibility. Please notify your Shift Lead or Public Safety Lead so they can rearrange the duties.
• If you are noticeably intoxicated, you will be relieved of your duties for your shift and may be asked to leave BSidesSF. Public Safety's actions can have legal ramifications for the BsidesSF, so we must be sober. The requirement is especially true when dealing with participants who are not.
• If you consistently fail to perform your assignments or are a "no call, no show" for a shift, you will be relieved of your duties and have your registration revoked.