ACCESS CONTROL
Getting security right is crucial to
the successful handling of a major
sporting event says Crispin Andrews
PHOTO: WWW
SPORT EVENT
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SECURITY
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ecurity and access control are not just about making aim of ensuring a safe and secure event. It also illustrates the
sure participants, support staff, spectators, media multi-dimensional nature of modern security arrangements.
and stadium personnel are safe; it’s also about The strategy aims to protect Olympic and Paralympic ven-
ensuring a high-quality experience for all concerned – ues and support transport infrastructure to ensure the safety
free from unnecessary external pressures. of those attending. It prepares for incidents that may mpinge
The former Transport Police chief – Sir Ian Johnston’s ap- on the safety and security of the Games and ensures capabili-
pointment as security director for the London 2012 Olympics ties are in place to mitigate their impact, while also identifying
shows the importance the London Organising Committee and disrupting potential threats. Also outlined within the strat-
of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery egy are command, control, plan and resource measures for the
Authority (ODA) attach to ensuring effective security safety and security operation, as are procedures to engage with
provision at the showcase event. international and domestic partners and local communities.
He will be responsible for security inside the venues and the Work is already being done to mitigate risk to the Olympic
key link with the Home Office’s Olympic security directorate. sites. Where appropriate, the design and construction of
Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell says that she wants to create Olympic venues and infrastructure will seek to ‘design out’
“an environment in which people from all over the world can security vulnerabilities and the Metropolitan Police has
come and enjoy the Games”. To ensure this, effective and com- established a dedicated team to police the Olympic site. This
prehensive security arrangements are key. team works alongside UK Border Agency staff, who ensure
that only people who have a right to work in this country
Olympic security strategy are able to access jobs on the site.
The Olympic security strategy sets out the principles that un-
derpin the government’s planning for Olympic security, the Sport security issues
threats the UK faces and how the government will achieve its At operational level, arranging security for all major sporting
events provides many challenges. It requires focused solutions
Careful selection and training of
that take into account the context in which the event takes place.
Mike Lee, managing director of Constant Security Servic-
security staff enables those with the right
es, explains that on the day, it is important to anticipate the
skills to be deployed in the right places
problems a specific environment or context could throw up
and have contingency plans in place to ensure the event runs
smoothly, should problems arise. “Delays to public transport or
an incident on a road can mean too many people turning up
at once,” he says. “You need good queuing facilities and the
capacity to put up additional crowd barriers at short notice so
unforeseen situations can be managed.”
For Lee, security is only as good as those who are carry-
ing it out. So not only must all those involved co-ordinate
their efforts under a single system – free of ego and inter-
68 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 1 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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