Last Updated: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 The Funeral For Pope John Paul II Was Excellence In Crowd Management Updated: Friday, April 08, 2005 Site of Pope John Paul II's funeral. Today’s moving funeral ceremony for Pope John Paul II in Vatican City and Rome was an example of excellence in crowd management. “[T]he handling of the Pope's viewing looks like a superb crowd management job,” international pedestrian movement expert John J. Fruin, Ph.D. told Crowdsafe.com’s News & Views. For the public safety professional and the student of crowd management and crowd control, it was indeed an inspirational moment. The immense undertaking that fell upon the shoulders of Vatican City, Rome and all of Italy, could not have succeeded without a true understanding of the principles of crowd management and the leadership to put in place a plan that would protect millions of mourners and onlookers from harm’s way. The roll of the spectators—and there were millions from all corners of the world—was also pivotal in the success of this historic milestone. Their cooperation was critical, as any safety and security official will tell you. But that aside, it is the organizers and rank and file crowd managers and security guards that deserve high praise. They are too numerous to mention. Official security for the funeral is said to have reached 15,000 police, fire, medical emergency and soldiers. And that number does not include volunteers and Vatican personnel, including those behind the scene. Crowd Management Strategies and all crowdsafers around the world salute the Vatican City and the Italian people for their outstanding effort under an extraordinarily difficult and emotion situation. [ home ][ crowdcafe ][ new ][ crowdshop ][ contact ] Crowd Management Strategies © 1997 - 2006. All rights reserved. Crowdsafe is a registered trademark of Crowd Management Strategies © 2006.