Glasgow 2014 – The best Commonwealth Games ever
F
ollowing our interview earlier this year with Deputy Chief Constable Steve
Allen from Police Scotland, Security Director and Gold Commander for Glasgow 2014, we caught up with him recently to see how the security of the games went in practice.
He was very positive about Glasgow 2014, “The city was buzzing and the atmosphere created an environment in which people felt excited but safe.”
Steve explained that detailed modelling and analysis was carried out to predict the behaviour of the crowds and any potential pinch points. Hundreds of thousands of people moved around the city over the course of the Games without incident. “There was some pressure on the infrastructure over the first weekend, but with a combination of proactive management and the patience and good humour of the public, problems were quickly resolved.”
In terms of overall security, Steve also believes the games were a real success, with no major safety or security issues. “The integration of military, police (including BTP), private sector and prison service worked really well and the partnership command and control arrangements went to plan.”
This best practice learnt won’t be lost. There were two key lessons for Steve. “Firstly, to ensure the safety and security planning takes account of the specific context – no two Games are the same and the political, cultural, economic and social contexts have to be understood and responded to. In Glasgow 2014, it was essential to understand and navigate the political set up in Scotland, its relationship with Westminster and the timing of the Games, just before the Scottish Referendum.”
The second lesson is about “ways in which you can secure the event long before the gates open, with clear communication and coherent messages about determination, professionalism, capability, preparedness – all of these shape the mindset of a would-be attacker at the point they would be starting to plan. We adopted most of the principles of Operation Servator in this area”.
The private security involvement was a success too. “The companies involved worked incredibly hard to overcome the challenges of recruiting, training, accrediting, accommodating and transporting thousands of staff. They should be very proud of how they took their place as part of the integrated safety and security workforce of around 15,000 people. They played a full part in making Glasgow 2014 the ‘Best Games Ever’.”
Business responds positively to CSSC at Glasgow 2014
A
recent business survey, following the use of CSSC during Glasgow 2014, has provided very positive feedback.
Johanna Buchanan, Project Manager, CSSC Scotland, summarised the findings at a CSSC breakfast briefing, with some powerful statistics:
• 97% feel CSSC Scotland is an effective means of enabling communication between the public and private.
• 94% agreed that the information was timely and 89% said it was relevant to their business.
The responses showed that businesses found the initiative to be well managed:
“The information was concise, timely, consistent and very relevant to our business. Really supported me with forward planning and communications to all our staff. It was invaluable and I would love to hear that this will continue as legacy.”
The project began in January with testing, exercising and sharing of business guidance and information. In June and July, the Queen’s Baton Relay made its journey throughout Scotland, followed by the games themselves, where CSSC was used to keep businesses informed, between 23 July and 4 August 2014.
Following the close of the Games, the survey demonstrated how opinion has shifted in some key areas, when compared to a similar survey in 2013:
• 90% now believe that the public and private sectors effectively share information on safety, security and resilience, as compared to 40% previously.
CSSC Scotland will continue to be used during the other major events in Scotland, including the Referendum and the Ryder Cup. It will transition to the new operational delivery team between October and December 2014. If you are interested in becoming part of the team, or any other aspect of the project, then please email
scotland@cssc.gb.com.
Your views on CSSC requested A © CI TY S ECURI TY MAGAZ INE – AUTUMN 2014
t a recent breakfast briefing for CSSC Industry Sector Leads (ISLs), Sir David
Veness announced a two–year review of CSSC. He said, “It has been decided that it is timely to initiate a review; your thoughts on where it should concentrate are invited.” Your thoughts or ideas for this review can be directed to CSSC Project Director:
Graham.Tucker@bankofengland.co.uk
www. c i t y s e cur i t yma ga z ine . com Building Security Accreditation Scheme T
here are now more than fifty buildings accredited to the scheme, with the latest
additions: 12 Charles II Street, Cannon Bridge House, Lion Plaza, 35 Great St Helen’s, 3 Copthall Avenue, 18 St Swithin’s Lane, Cheapside House, 60 Queen Victoria Street, Broken Wharf House, Ibex House.
Following this initial success, the application process and application is currently being reviewed, to take onboard feedback and learning from the first year of this project. Any views on this scheme should be send to
admin@cityoflondoncpa.org.uk. For further details of the scheme and to download an application form, please visit:
www.cityoflondoncpa.org.uk
P
roject Griffin in National Counter Terrorism Awareness Week
Project Griffin will form a siginificant part of the Counter Terrorism week in November. The week will commence in each area with a Project Griffin Awareness Day.
The aim is to encourage the gathering of CT and community intelligence, to enhance preparedness and vigilance across the nation.
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