An article in the New Scientist suggests that the tactics police use to manage large crowds may actually create more problems than they solve. "Research into how people behave at demonstrations, sports events, music festivals and other mass gatherings shows not only that crowds nearly always act in a highly rational way, but also that when facing an emergency, people in a crowd are more likely to cooperate than panic."
While this makes sense to me, I can't help but think of the student gatherings I witnessed while working at a state university in which student mobs damaged public property and engaged in lewd behavior. While most gatherings remain peaceful, there are some in which trouble is almost a certainty from the moment the group forms. The New Scientist peace suggests that the "mob mentality" might actually be a myth, but my first-hand experiences say otherwise. There are some dissenting voices in the article, and it's a good read. Be sure to check it out.
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