I didn't have any real problem with the security guys inside the festival myself (that I remember at least) but thought that the "secure" perimeter was a joke. On the Friday some time people arrived and parked their tents right between ours and the GladTalk flag, I overheard them talking and it seemed that the majority of them had jumped the fence all too easily and talking with others over the weekend it seemed they weren't the only ones by a long way. There had to be a fair few hundred fence jumpers in there and in a festival that size it's scandalous. Perhaps next year the organisers could put more effort into guarding the boundary than into searching tents.

yeah ive been pretty lucky it seems but they wernt happy with us playing music on sunday night at all, kept hunting us down to turn off the tunes................wankers the stereo was so small and shit it only made about 2decibels!!!!

We had a stereo on, on the sunday night and luckily had no security tell us to turn it off, I cant seriously believe that a small cd player would cause a disturbance. The more I read about the problems with the security, the more thankful I am that neither me or my mates got any bother from them, would be nice to here from one of the Glade organisers on their views on all these comments...

Madness

I personally didn't see any security violence or anything like that though i was warned by someone about them taking away people's stash and on Sunday, i saw them snooping around ID Spiral and speaking to people. i agree though that them racing around in those bloody 4X4's was really dangerous and annoying! I hope the Glade crew take everyone's complaints to hand (pretty sure they will though, cux they are lovely :kiss: )

As for frencejumpers. i met a couple, two kids about 17 and they said it had been pretty easy to get in. but they were harmless and only stayed for the saturday, so i didn't see the point it taking them to security. i don't agree with frencejumpers btw.

On the whole, i did feel somewhat safer with the security, but obviously Shadow security was doing more harm then good.

xXx

the shadow security were awful beyond all doubt, as has already been said.
the stuart guys seemed alright. i saw them escort a few fencejumpers out, and they seemed to just them ask them nicely to get in the van, and drove them off. the money spent on the shadow guys should've been spent on more fence and have just a couple of meatheads on foot as opposed to those ridiculous 4x4s.

Loved the festival....heard some pretty bad stuff about the security and busting people for skinning up etc. I didnt see any of it myself....but i wasnt happy about them tearing round the site in those stupid wagons.

This is a bit radical so bear with me.....i would have liked to see police in there rather than the new security!! ive been at plenty of fests were the police have wandered past people smoking or skinning up with no hassles....they've chatted away to me when ive been off my face with no hassle. They know its going to happen and only seem to target people out to cause trouble, better option maybe.

If all that extra ticket money went on the security this year someone seriously cocked up

ubadcats wrote:Loved the festival....heard some pretty bad stuff about the security and busting people for skinning up etc. I didnt see any of it myself....but i wasnt happy about them tearing round the site in those stupid wagons.

This is a bit radical so bear with me.....i would have liked to see police in there rather than the new security!! ive been at plenty of fests were the police have wandered past people smoking or skinning up with no hassles....they've chatted away to me when ive been off my face with no hassle. They know its going to happen and only seem to target people out to cause trouble, better option maybe.

If all that extra ticket money went on the security this year someone seriously cocked up

I don't think i'd be comfortable with police there. if i saw police i'd just feel like Glade had become another completely controlled enviroment.

xXx

i was fortunate in seeing no unpleasant incidents with security. first i knew about it all was reading the forums.
but my friend was working as an oxfam steward, and spent quite a lot of time around them - even from on 'their side' she thought they had a very strange attitude, and made her more than a bit nervous. they couldn't understand for a start why anyone would work for free, and had no idea really of the kind of people they were dealing with.

coming from a club working environment, i get on really well now with our 'meathead' bouncers. but i have to admit, nice people as they are, once they get into bouncer mode, the beast comes out, and they're always happiest on a busy, rowdy, nasty club night, full of fights and dealers that they can go steaming into, shouting into their radios and bundling people, barely restraining their delight..
nothing drives them more up the wall than quiet/docile nights. they go looking for trouble. prowling about all sullen and bored, picking on tiny anal things, and acting the presence that actively puts people on edge and gnarly and ready for a scrap.

i think this might be common to many bouncers. a chilled out, mostly trouble free festival, rather than being an easy job, becomes a mission to find something they can get alpha male and assertive about. i'm generalising massively here. but i think many large security companys, used to trouble, will have totally the wrong vibe for that kind of festival.
not that i have a solution really. there probably isnt much work around for chilled out security companies. but there must be a way. were they properly briefed before glade? my friend didn't think so.

i managed to get one of them to smile on the sunday tho. job done. sometimes being overtly pleasant to them knocks them off their guard for a while. tis a vicious circle - the more scary they look, the more people start to look shifty and bitter, and the more they feel the returning unwelcome vibe and get all stroppy.

perhaps if we heap them with cake and glitter next year, they'll cheer up from the start, instead of playing commandos all weekend.

i see many incidents with over the top security and did they need there meat waggons with roo bars on the front. sunday night i saw the peak of there nazi behavour as they had a go at a friend for imaginary verbal abuse meatheads (i am only talking about shadow) for a firm called shadow they sure seem to get in your way and intimidate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shadow tirde to sell me drugs as well

i swaer they had load os e shotters working for them

Hello - I'm new here and have been directed to this thread by someone from my own forum. I run a website which is aimed at improving concert safety. I have been concerned about the complaints about over the top treatment described by some people.

This needs to be challenged properly, openly and officially, it is of little use to put threads on a forum if other action is not taken promptly.

Some of the behaviours described are criminal and if this was actually witnessed or if it happened to you you really do need to contact the police. Complaints should also be put to the local council who grant the festival license and the festival organisers themselves, the vast majority of security firms will take complaints seriously and so it would be wise to contact them as well.

Please do something about it if you have been subject to bad treatment by security and feel free to contact me.

my mate got caught smoking a spliff by the guards they then took this of him which is fair enough but then they took £100 out of his wallet which is not on

Medusa wrote:Hello - I'm new here and have been directed to this thread by someone from my own forum. I run a website which is aimed at improving concert safety. I have been concerned about the complaints about over the top treatment described by some people.

This needs to be challenged properly, openly and officially, it is of little use to put threads on a forum if other action is not taken promptly.

Some of the behaviours described are criminal and if this was actually witnessed or if it happened to you you really do need to contact the police. Complaints should also be put to the local council who grant the festival license and the festival organisers themselves, the vast majority of security firms will take complaints seriously and so it would be wise to contact them as well.

Please do something about it if you have been subject to bad treatment by security and feel free to contact me.

Thanks for that, mate.

I'm certainly worried by some of the stories I've heard, as there are some definite patterns emerging. I personally didn't witness anything, so I won't be much use in this regard, but hopefully those who did see something will take it further.

You're very welcome - please feel free to come on my site if you guys want to challenge this type of thing - but if you don't want to use my site PLEASE, PLEASE make sure that you do take action and contact all the appropriate people - the only way things will change is if ordinary people make it plain that they will not tolerate it.

Hey it wasnt all negative - i saw some guys from stuart taking ages with some guy that was naked and out of his head trying to find his tent for him. In the end they found his mate and he took him off safely to his tent, these were security guys that had time for people who needed some help - cant say the same for the other lot though - thought the waffen ss had been disbanded when they lost the war! Shadow security = ss get it

luckily i didn't see any bad shit from security, but they did seem to be constantly driving about in their trucks. on the first night my mate took a photo of two of tehm guarding the cash machines (which i didn't see again after that), and they were nice about it.

shouldv'e done more on keeping jumpers out and patrolling tents (i was one of the unfortunates who got stuff nicked on the first night while I slept), and definietly been folks who 'got' the festival.

Unfortunately, many of the security's worst excesses will go unreported - for obvious reasons. Nobody's going to call the Police because the security stole their drugs off them, even if they took their money as well and gave them a beating and threw them out. This happened to one person I know, and there are plenty of similar stories.

We all know which clubs to avoid in London where the security make a living out of this kind of extortion, do we now know which festival to avoid?

SORT IT OUT, GLADE.

sounds like they got not much job briefing, theres a welfare tent at glade so why don't these neandarthals just escort someone who's a bit caned, and in need of a rest, there?

must agree, last year cant remember seeing a security guard inside the place, or for that matter seeing o theft, this year i saw and heard about loads more trouble, and saw the security peeps riding all over the place

Just to make light of some allergasions on this forum.

I had the pleasure of working Glade this year and really enjoyed the atmosphrere and the event its self as i have worked many events around the country and you guys are a pleasure to work wiyh.

I dont agree with some of the allergations on here as a lot of the time it just hearsay and to be fair security always get a bad rap and not liked from the day that you walk through those gates.

I have been working events for many years and beleive me i have never worked for a better security company than Shadow as all there staff were either close protection offiers or ex militry. I did not witness any beating apart from one guy that was off his head on Acid and needed restraining for his own safety and anyone around him.

Maybe i shouldnt say this but i have a very relaxed approach to drug use at these festivals and the only reason someone would be searched is if they were off there tits and to make sure they dont take anymore drugs and end upi in an even worse state. We would not take any drusg off anyone and beleive me when i say that some people had a very lucky break as if the poilce were called they would be doing some serious jail time for the amounts they had on them.

Somne kids were gob smacked as we were chilled about the smoking and come on that whats glades about but if we were to relaxed then how would you feel if next year the police were walking round with a zerro tolerance

We were there for your protection and a good job was done with the amount of fence jumpers and tents that were robbed were down on last year. Security were lookingf for wristbands and if they didnt have one they were ejected from site but even then we were amazed that one guy said it upset him that were throwing people of site for not paying and that we should leve them on.

Any questions then ask