Policing events at Silverstone

Traffic information 

• The traffic management plan is coordinated and delivered by Highways England, supported by Northamptonshire Police and other partner organisations. More information on road closures and the best routes into the track will be publicised ahead of each year's event.
• Allow plenty of time for your journey to and from the event because of increased pressures on the county’s roads.
• Be aware of road signs and diversions when travelling to the event and follow any signposts that have been put in place.
• Race-goers are advised to tune into Silverstone Radio on 87.7FM or 1602MW for the latest updates on traffic.
• Traffic updates may also be broadcast by BBC Radio Northampton (104.2FM) and Heart FM (96.6FM).

Safety advice

Vehicle crime prevention 

• Don’t leave any property on display in vehicles. What is not valuable to you may be valuable to someone else.
• Make sure you close your windows and lock your car, put your alarm on and use any visible security device, like a steering wheel lock.
• Think – remove it, lock it, keep it.

Gadgets  

• If you can’t live without your smart phone, tablet or laptop during the race weekend, make sure you protect it. Download an anti-theft app before you set off; most are free, quick to install and will give us the best chance of finding your phone and hopefully catching the person who took it. To find an app, search ‘anti-theft’ in your app store.
• Before you leave, make sure someone back home has details of the make and model of your phone, its IMEI number and any password. Register your phone’s details at www.immobilise.com as well. You should also note down the account username and password of your tracking app.
• When you arrive at Silverstone please remember to be discreet with your phone and keep it out of sight.
• Register all your valuables on www.immobilise.com. It takes only a few minutes and is free. Use a UV pen to write your postcode and house number on your stuff – it’s invisible to the human eye but if your gadget comes into a police station, we will check it with our lights – if it’s identifiable we can return it to you.

Tent security

• Tents are, by their very nature, not secure. If you are spending a lot of time wandering around Silverstone then your tent will spend a lot of time unattended.
• Don’t leave your valuables in your tent when no-one’s in it.
• Leave your tent untidy; don't make it easy for a thief to grab a bag with everything in it.
• When you’re in your tent, secure the zip pulls together with a padlock, to stop anyone getting inside.
• Remove your wallet or purse from any clothing and hide money close to you while you sleep. Consider investing in a money belt that you can wear while you sleep.
• Consider purchasing some purse bells or purse alarms that activate when your purse is removed so you can hear when it’s moved.

Personal safety

• For security reasons, everyone entering the event will be subject to extra searches of their bags and their person. This will make entering the venue slower than in previous years but is necessary. In order to facilitate quicker access, event-goers have been asked to bring only one bag into the venue, which should be no bigger than a standard rucksack (max 20 litre capacity).
• Be aware of your surroundings and who is around you when you are paying for things. Don’t take more money than you need; there are cash points on site or you can pay for items on your card.
• Try and stay with friends while walking around the Silverstone site and campsites, especially at night. Stick to walking in well-lit areas where possible.
• Be aware of your surroundings. We would advise against wandering around wearing headphones.
• Consider the need to carry around a personal attack alarm - some are available with a torch.
• Don't challenge people looking through tents - report them to police or the Silverstone campsite/circuit staff.

Alcohol 

• By all means, please have a good time, but remember that drinking too much hampers your judgment – one drink too many can lead to problems, not least forgetting where your tent is. You can also be more vulnerable to assault or robbery when drunk – so try not to have too much and stay aware of your surroundings.
• Northamptonshire Police takes underage drinking very seriously and will utilise all of our powers to monitor and respond to any breaches of license. We will be conducting alcohol test purchasing operations throughout the weekend at the circuit and surrounding licensed premises.
• If young people are found to be drinking alcohol in public places they should expect to have the alcohol confiscated and their parents/guardians contacted.

Drones

• Leave drones at home – you will not be able to fly them legally or safely either at the circuit or in the nearby campsites.
• A two mile flying restriction cordon will be in place around the circuit. This means that no drones will be allowed to fly within that cordon unless they have approval from the heliport tower.
• Police officers will be looking out for unauthorised use of drones during their regular patrols of the circuit and campsites, and anyone found to be breaking the rules with regard to the relevant legislation will be spoken to and appropriate action taken.

The relevant legislation:

• • Flights must be safe: Article 94 (2) of the Air Navigation Order 2016 (amended 2019), states that ‘the remote pilot of a small unmanned aircraft may only fly the aircraft if reasonably satisfied that the flight can safely be made’. With the number of people expected at the circuit and the campsites, it will not be possible to fly a drone safely in these areas.
  • Small unmanned surveillance aircraft (Article 95 of the Air Navigation Order 2016 (amended 2019)): As many drones have cameras fitted, they would be classed as small unmanned surveillance aircraft and these are not allowed to be flown (without written permission from the CAA) within 50m of a person, vehicle or structure, over or within 150m of a congested area or an organised assembly of more than 1,000 people.
  • If an offence is believed to have been committed, under section 19 (3) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, officers have the power to seize the drone as it may contain evidence of that offence.

Reporting suspicious activity

• If you see anything suspicious at the circuit during this weekend’s events, report it to a nearby police officer or alternatively call 101. In an emergency, always dial 999.
• Concerns or suspicions about terrorism or extremist activity can also be reported quickly and anonymously online via gov.uk/ACT or you can call police in confidence on 0800 789 321.
• If you have information about a crime or anyone involved in criminal activity, you can also report it anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

What should I do with lost property?

If you find or lose property at Silverstone, contact either circuit security staff or go to a ticket office at the circuit.