Staying Safe at the Ballpark
Who is Responsible for Personal Safety at the Ballpark?
Personal safety in public venues such as baseball stadiums ultimately falls on the individual. The stadium shares in the responsibility as well but a number of factors stop them from being able to prevent violent crimes. There are simply too many people and too few security personnel. Hiring additional security is very costly and the monetary burden would ultimately fall on the fans in the form of higher ticket prices. Higher ticket prices would likely result in fewer ticket sales. It’s not that the teams don’t care and some of the responsibility does indeed belong to them to keep their fans and the fans of opposing teams safe but in the end there is no substitute for the individual doing their part to keep themselves safe.
Steps Fans Can Take to Keep Themselves Safe
At stadiums that are known for ill-tempered fans it’s never a good idea to show up wearing the opposing team’s garb – at least, not alone. For hardcore fans wanting to deck out in their chosen team’s colors there is safety in numbers. Finding other fans and arriving at the stadium with them serves as a powerful deterrent for would be attackers. If an individual can’t find a group of fans to group up with it is best to keep a lower profile and dress in neutral colors. Most crimes occur in the parking lot so avoid dimly lit areas and park as closely to the entrance as possible. Use the same amount of caution when leaving the stadium as well and at all times keep an eye out for your fellow man. Even one person coming to help during a fight is enough to break up the fight altogether.
Keep the personal possessions to a minimum and only bring what you really need. There are so many people in a stadium that it would be nearly impossible to catch a thief.
Why Violent Crimes Happen in Public Venues
Humans are known to behave differently in large groups than they ever would as individuals. The trampling deaths in stadiums in the past have been evidence of the mental shift from a higher level of thinking to that of a more basal, animal type of thought pattern when people are grouped in confined spaces. Adding alcohol to this situation makes it even worse, with alcohol being known to bring out the worst in many people. Alcohol could be banned in the stadium itself but a ban on drunkenness in general would be nearly impossible to actually enforce. Nothing is stopping fans from having a few drinks before the game. Security personnel could be instructed to watch for drunken behavior but many alcoholics do not physically exhibit drunken traits. Increased public awareness regarding violent crimes at ballparks is likely the best weapon against it.
There is no substitute for watching a ball game at the stadium and no reason to avoid going to the ballpark. A few common sense steps can make all the difference in terms of personal safety in public venues.
