Brixton Academy refuse racial profiling during venue safety hearing
In a hearing on Monday, September 11th, London’s O2 Academy Brixton refused to humour racial profiling as a means of safeguarding the venue. They also laid out plans for improving ticket sales control.
During the two-day hearing at Lambeth Council, the venue’s legal representatives defended it as a place of “economic and cultural importance” and “not being one of those venues that’s on the police’s radar.”
The Academy was forced to shut its doors until further notice following a fatal crowd crush incident which occurred during an Asake concert in December 2022. Lambeth Council are expected to decide whether or not the Academy Music Group can continue to operate their licence at the building in due course.
Last December, the incident left two dead and one in critical condition. The Metropolitan Police force subsequently stated that they had “lost confidence” in the venue’s safety policy, arguing that the doors must remain shut permanently.
During the first day of the hearing, Philip Kolvin QC represented AMG. It was disclosed that there were intentions to hold “at least monthly” meetings with the police. Additionally, Kolvin delved into the intricacies of AMG’s risk assessment procedures, emphasising that these processes will not make any distinctions based on music genres.
“My client is probably the leading host of music of Black origin in this country,” Mr Kovin QC said. “That’s a position that it values and would like to continue to be.”
He continued to affirm that, of the 13 different risks assessed by the Academy, “none of them are racial.”
“They’re all specific events: overcrowding, crushing, collapse of balcony, burn injuries, etc.,” he said. “The risks are disaggregated, and they have nothing to do with racial typing. What we are not saying is, ‘This is a hip-hop artist: beware’. We’re moving away from a genre-based risk assessment. That’s really very crucial.”
“We might be looking at artists in terms of things like lasers, use of pyro, special effects, artists climbing the scenery, entering the audience, etc. – but it’s not, ‘Oh, it’s this type of music, we’re shunning this in Brixton,'” he added. “We’ll just say that plenty of pop concerts could be high risk, depending on the factors.”
Kolvin QC further addressed the venue’s respectful relationship with the police force. “On about three occasions over the last five years, 2018-2022, my client met with the police, the police said, ‘We’ve got intelligence about this show, we are concerned about you running it, please don’t run it’, and my client did not run it,” he said.
“My client is not going to cut across the advice of the Metropolitan Police. If they say, ‘People are at risk from this show’ – and they might have some terrorism intelligence – but we trust them as partners to use that advice sparingly,” Kolvin QC added.
With regard to the alleged ticketing issues, Kolvin QC explained that there was no evidence to suggest anyone had been granted entry without a valid ticket.
“There were some allegations made in this case, which may well be investigated by the SIA, that people were being allowed in by security without tickets,” Mr Kolvin QC said. “We don’t have evidence that it was happening on the night, but we have [security operators] Showsec in – who are a different company – and now the ticketing is done by venue staff, so my client has total control of the operation, using the new Safe Tix system developed by Ticketmaster, which is the most secure way of checking people in yet because it uses a revolving barcode.”
He added: “Between Showsec and my client, there will just not be a way into this venue without having an appropriate ticket.”
In addition to a strict ticketing policy, Kolvin QC revealed that the Academy had already installed 16 new CCTV cameras outside the premises and would be fastidiously surveilling the area for illegal or suspicious behaviour.
“I’d ask you to view what we’ve produced as a framework of control, enabling you to have confidence in my client,” he said. “My client really means this. This is done with intent. It means to operate it properly as a venue that it, and you, can be proud of and have confidence in.
“My client is a very good operator, which has applied its mind and the minds of some very good people with the objective of running this venue as safely as anywhere else in the country.”
Concluding, Mr Kolvin QC discussed how The Academy Group “will never walk away from this fantastic heritage venue. It is the pride and joy of Brixton, and it is the heart of my client’s estate,” he added. “My client wants to re-open and wants to continue its work there with the community of artists, music lovers and local people who look to the Academy as a place of celebration and national importance.”
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