Ways of increasing the level of safety and security at locations proposed for World Youth Day 2016

Abstract

The organisation of religious ceremonies involving an above average number of participants is a challenge, not only for the church authorities, but also for the civic authorities. Such a ceremony is XXIX World Youth Day. Events are planned for many places, including at Kraków-Balice Airport, in Częstochowa in the area of the Jasna Góra monastery, in Brzegi and in Błonia Park, Kraków. The locations that have been selected to enable the announced participation of millions of the faithful in the ceremonies, and the contemporary threats existing, including even that of terrorism, mean that there is a challenge to ensure the safety and security of the participants. Coping with this means that the legal framework for the formations responsible for security in the country, and the organisers’ security staff and volunteers functioning in this particular situation, need to be defined. Such a regulation is primarily the Act of 18 March 2016 on the special solutions adopted for the organisation of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis in the Republic of Poland and World Youth Day - Kraków 2016. The article analyses the existing legal solutions and formulates observations which, when taken into account, will result in increased safety and security during World Youth Day. They concern: the participation of security staff, stewards and volunteers, and their powers to ensure order; identification of unacceptable behaviour and items that threaten order and security; prevention of unlawful and intentional use of unmanned mobile platforms; the risk of a terrorist threat; likely locations for an attempted attack and the possible methods which might be used. The considerations that make up the content of the article lead to the formulation of recommendations, which are presented as a summary.