Security at the Cinema

Moviegoers may have noticed a new sign at the East Hampton Cinema: “For the safety and comfort of all our guests: Backpacks and bags of any kind are subject to inspection prior to entry to this facility.” The Regal Entertainment Group, the largest movie theater chain in the country, recently announced the new policy on its website and at its entrances.

“You can’t be too safe,” said East Hampton Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen. The theater, said the chief, has “always had the ability, just like any private location has the ability, to search people’s items. If people don’t want it, they don’t have to go there.”

Chief Larsen said his department’s emergency services team had worked with the movie theater to develop tactical plans, as it has done with the East Hampton School District. “There is no real specific threats to the movie theater,” he said, “but a pre-plan is a good idea. You see what’s happening all over the country. It doesn’t take a specific threat to have a problem occur. I’d rather be proactive than reactive.”

Last month, a gunman killed two people in a movie theater in Lafayette, La. There have been other incidents as well, including a hatchet attack in a theater in Nashville earlier this month. Back in 2012, 12 people were killed and 70 injured when a gunman opened fire in a theater in Aurora, Colo.