Patrons will have a wand run over them by security any time a concern is identified as part of tighter security processes at the MCG after two men allegedly carried guns into the Carlton-Collingwood clash this month.
Two men, who were both already on bail, were arrested and charged after the guns were allegedly found hidden in their pants inside the stadium on April 3.
Security staff check MCG patrons before the Richmond-Brisbane Lions game on April 5. A tightening of security is expected to cause more delays for fans entering the ground.Credit: Penny Stephens
At the time, Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) chief executive Stuart Fox said the AI-powered technology in place at the gates had worked to detect the prohibited item, but the secondary screening process was not robust enough to stop the patrons entering the ground.
On Tuesday, Fox would not go into detail about what actually happened, as the case was before the courts. But he admitted to the ABC that the alleged offenders did not have a wand run over them, despite technology identifying an item of concern.
Their bags were searched but that search did not reveal any prohibited items.
From now on, all patrons who are flagged by the initial screening will have a wand run over them and more thorough bag searches.
“[There are] two layers at the front of the gate. The first one is technology, which people can see, screening units. If you are flagged by that screening unit, you move to the secondary process. That is the bit we are tightening up on. That is the bit where the gap lay, and we have improved that,” Fox said.
Security guards do not have the legal right to search somebody without consent. However, venues or events can have their own conditions of entry and turn people away if they don’t agree to be searched.
The MCG has as a condition of entry that patrons need to comply with any request for electronic or personal body searching.
The MCC, which manages the ground, was confident after working with the AFL and police, that the tightened procedure would ensure there was no repeat of the April 3 breach.
There will be police at every gate alongside the security teams, who Fox rated as among the best in the world.
He confirmed no action was being taken against the individuals involved in the screening and searches.
“The responsibility lies with us,” he said. “The incident has caused us to review and consider things differently and tighten things up … it’s more thoroughness around the secondary screening.
“We are trying to make sure people get through [the gates] safely, securely and efficiently and there is a real balance to that, but what we can’t afford is an incident like this to happen again.
“This [incident] has hurt us a bit. There have been people affected by [the breach] but I think it is time to get around people, and we have not blamed individuals. The message to our security team and all our staff is around our processes and our procedures, so it’s reinforcing those so they are absolutely clear on what is required.”
With 80,000 spectators expected for the Easter Monday clash between Geelong and Hawthorn and a series of blockbusters at the ground over the next three weeks, Fox encouraged people to turn up early and consider what they needed to bring to the game in a bag. He said logjams and queues often happened in the half hour before the first bounce and more security would be on to help queues flow.
