Monday 5 July 2010

Reading Festival: Security is stepped up


Steps are being taken to make Reading festival safer this year after the reported troubles in 2009.
Festival arrangers are increasing the number of police officers, stewards and security staff on site.
On the Saturday night 6pm they will also ban alcohol being brought onto the site.
And BBC Radio Berkshire found out why those measures are being put in place and talked to some of those caught up in the troubles.
"It was an improbably safe festival generally. Everything worked," said Melvin Benn of Festival Republic.
"Unfortunately, although we have always had some hi-jinx on the Sunday evening, last year that hi-jinks turned nasty, actually for the first time," he says.
"The nastiness has never been there and caught us by surprise."
Intimidated
Someone who felt the affects of that was Charlotte from Slough who said she felt intimidated when she attended the festival.
"Everything just got actually crazy. I wasn't expecting it at all. All the people just turned into hoodlums and ran around burning tents and stealing stuff from people's tents.
"It just got really scary, I was only 17 at the time and I've never experienced anything like that before.
"So we just packed up our tents and stayed awake all night just chatting to the people in the campsite next to us because they had a big campfire which they had cooked their dinner on.
"Then they threw all their bags and tents on it, everyone around ran to the fire and threw their aerosol cans on it so when they exploded it was really horrible.
"And someone tried to get my tent and throw it in the fire but it had all my stuff in it and I told them to go away.
"So we put our stuff in our bags and stayed awake until the first train the next morning."

Increased security
So Reading Festival arrangers will double the security presence to 400 people.
Melvin explained the decision.
"In the past Thames Valley Police have generally resisted making arrests for what they perceived as being hi-jinx.
"They are aware that the people there are at university, or a lot of them are at university, and that hi-jinx to a certain extent would potentially spoil their future life, their future career because they would get a criminal record.
"The police have been really good about that in the past and this year they are very clear and I'm standing with them on this.
"They will not tolerate it and arrests will be made. People need to be aware of the consequences of arrests being made and they will be vigorous about our desire to catch people causing trouble and seek prosecutions against them because this is affecting a lot of people.
"Based on last year, their misbehaviour stepped beyond hi-jinx and really should be punished."

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