As I write this, South African sports supporters are revelling in the Olympic Games victory of the men's swimming relay team of Ryk Neethling, Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns and Darian Townsend in the 4x100 m freestyle - and setting a new world record in the process - to win South Africa's first Olympic gold medal in eight years.
Host city Athens reportedly spent $1,5 billion on security for the Games and the athletes and at the time of writing this, spectators and athletes were all safe, the only little hiccup having occurred when Iran's world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili refused to compete against an Israeli at the Games in which race, creed and colour are barred from interfering in sport. No security issues were reported though!
On the website http://www.iwar.org.uk/homesec/resources/olympic-security/maples.htm is a report by David Maples of Johnson, Maples and Associates on Lessons Learnt from Security at past Olympic Games. In closing he says, "The Olympic Movement tries to contribute to a peaceful better world through sport and to generate mutual understanding through a spirit of friendship and fair play. As our world becomes more complex, the challenges faced by security forces that have the responsibility to preserve an environment that allows participants and spectators alike to gather at the Olympic Games in the spirit of the Games, continue to escalate.
"When Los Angeles hosted the 1932 Olympic Games, security consisted of police motorcycle officers to direct traffic near the stadium and a horseback officer to patrol around the athletes' housing. Athens estimates its Olympic Games security costs will be $800 million, plus the support of security forces from several other countries. Security forces must prepare to prevent or respond to threats unimagined to previous Games."
How times have changed - a large portion of the said $1,5 billion went towards security personnel who reportedly outnumber athletes seven to one at the biggest sporting event on earth, and the first since the 11 September attacks in the US in 2001.
But security issues and solutions change all the time. We report this month on the philosophy of intrusion and perimeter detection; the latest in ID card design; risk management in Africa; the present and future situations of CCTV; and we give you the low-down on PC-based digital surveillance solutions. Looking ahead to the October issue of Hi-Tech Security Solutions, it is access control, access control and more access control! Included with this issue will be an Access Control Handbook. Access control has many facets and we are looking to cover as many of those as possible in the magazine - from time and attendance and ID systems to biometrics and intercom systems. And not forgetting perimeter security which could include news and views on anything from fencing, booms, bollards and barriers to turnstiles and man-traps.
Enjoy this issue in the meantime!
Lynne Larsen
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd. | All Rights Reserved.
printer friendly version