There is no reason to have to count on volunteers or repurposed employees to secure an event when there are plenty of professional organizations that can be contracted or subcontracted to provide security on an event-by-event basis. Unless your company needs fully staffed security, turn to the professional guard agencies. They can provide executive protection or security for events. It’s all legitimate work when done properly.
The most important factor is to determine the likely security threat and what level of protection is really needed. Most general crowds will behave themselves with a little encouragement, while some audiences might have rowdy members who need to be discouraged. It all depends on the event and the expected audience.
An organization that has thrown similar events before generally have a grasp on the type of security for events that will be needed. Crowds do vary, but there are also similarities based on the interest. Any large event does need minimal security just like it needs bathrooms, water, some type of concession stand, and bags for pets. A professional guard service can scale up to almost any need.
If risk assessment is an issue, then the same company can offer this service as well. This is especially true if they have experience with an industry, which is to say a type of event and the people that it attracts, but they can do all sorts of research if necessary. Being professionals that they are, they might do research anyway to see if there have been any events or industry changes that might spark an incident. They keep an eye peeled for copycat violence and everything else.
Professional guards are definitely a mile above amateurs that casually perform this service. The professionals tend to be great bodybuilders and able to handle the strength of another grown man. A couple of these pros can grapple even the largest troublemaker to the ground. They can restrain and make an arrest without using lethal force.
Guard duty and police work are different from solders. They are experts at using restraining techniques and nonlethal methods to defeat attackers or else to shepherd rowdy groups of people. They use different methods, depending on what is available or allowed, and the bottom line is that bad guys go down without excessive bad press or legal liability.
To make the deal even better, a professional independent company often has its own insurance. This means that they can cover their own slipups, which rarely happen. Get professionals because they are worth the price, especially for high-profile events.