Our CoreCon Blogmaster and his family have been to many conventions. Even ones that aren’t CoreCon. From security that doesn’t care, to volunteer security on power trips they have seen it all. CoreCon has always been about anti-bullying, inclusiveness and being a safe space for everyone. Although security can’t be everywhere, they provide and set the tone for a safe and fun con! CoreCon security has always excelled so our Blogmaster sat down with them for a Q&A with the head of our security team and asked them all of the “why’s and how’s” and “ins and outs” of what makes CoreCon’s security team, go! . We hope that this gives you insight into just how important security is to any convention, including CoreCon.
Blogmaster: Why does CoreCon provide security?
Security Head: We provide security as a service to CoreCon to help our attendees feel like they have someone who is part of CoreCon watching over them to ensure that they are able to have a great time without fear of someone else ruining their fun. CoreCon Security is made of people with the unique perspective of understanding con attendees, because they are also Con attendees. We want everyone to feel welcome and included at CoreCon and Security is part of that.
Blogmaster: How does security help people at Con?
Security Head: We do everything from helping making sure people are following our rules. From our weapon policies for prop weapons to making sure our attendees are respectful of other attendee’s personal space. We are the people that CoreCon utilizes to make sure that anything that could be disruptive to our attendee’s enjoyment, isn’t. We deal with the unpleasant aspects of things that can occur when people gather. We try to do these things quietly and out of the view of most people so we minimize disruption of everyone’s good time at CoreCon.
Blogmaster: What if a security person is the trouble?
Security Head: In the highly unlikely situation of a Security team member being troublesome, the Security Chief and/or the Security Deputy Chief, alongside the Consuls will address the issue and the person involved will be reprimanded and likely dismissed from any Security positions, potentially permanently. Security staff are entrusted with being in positions of authority and that is not to be taken lightly. We expect higher standards to be represented by our Security Staff.
Blogmaster: What qualifications do you need to volunteer for security?
Security Head: Technically we don’t have any qualification requirements but we do try to recruit people with military, law enforcement, or security backgrounds or people with conflict resolution training. We take people from all kinds of backgrounds though so as to have a diverse team capable of being approachable and representative of the CoreCon attendees. We do have some things that would preclude people from joining the team such as prior legal issues, prior bad behavior at Con, or social media behavior counter to the values of CoreCon.
Blogmaster: Is security essential at a con?
Security Head: Absolutely! When people gather in large numbers there will be some bad apples who may behave very poorly. Adding alcohol can be problematic for some people who cannot control themselves and need to be reminded when it’s time to stop. We have people who may be wearing cosplay outfits that could cover less of the person’s body than street attire and they may feel like someone is paying untoward attention to them. Security can step in and speak to the observer about behavior. Security also ensures that Con attendees who have paid for their admission aren’t taken advantage of by people who may try to sneak into the Con spaces. Security also is there to ensure that if an incident arises we can provide support and direction in a time when some people may not be able to function well if something traumatic or disturbing happens. Security does many many things behind the scenes so most of the attendees have a wonderful time and don’t have to worry about their safety.
If you want to help others enjoy their time at CoreCon, our security team is looking for volunteers. If you want to help make a difference, contact them at: security@fargocorecon.org