Andrew Amery, the head of security co-ordination for London 2012 organiser LOCOG, has said that 92% of people asked at the Olympic Park were “extremely satisfied” with the security operations for the Olympic Games.
Speaking at the opening of the first Global Security Summit London, Mr Amery was speaking about the successes of the security operation that was 7 years in the making.
The London 7/7 bombings – the day after the bid was won – “had a massive impact on our planning,” he said.
“[That] really pulled the focus onto the security operation for the games more than previous Olympic games.”
The security plan was based on four key principles that was a central part of the bidding process. The operation would be:
- Intelligence led and risk based
- Cohesive and coordinated
- Integrated to all areas
- Effective and discreet.
“There were in the region of 40 different agencies involved in the intelligence and risk operation.”
The approach to security was therefore based on two principles: creating a bespoke risk analysis for each Olympic venue and taking a ‘secured by design’ approach to the construction of the Olympic Park and other venues.
Safe and secure environment
In order to minimise disruption for spectators on the busiest days, detailed computer models were used to simulate the crowd build-ups at entrances.
The Stratford Gate at the Olympic Park was the busiest of all the main entrances at London 2012 and had over 100 lanes.
Mr Amery revealed that the average queue time for spectators at the security cordons was 9 minutes – the maximum on the busiest day was 19 minutes – despite spectators being warned to leave up to 2 hours to get through security.
One of the key concerns for Mr Amery and his team was people who were yet to be searched building up in large crowds outside venues – as this represented a significant risk.
This was not a problem, with 92% of spectators who were asked saying they were “extremely satisfied” with the security and felt that they were in “a safe and secure environment.”
Normalising security was critical
A full national and international integration on the security operation was important to achieve the success of London 2012.
Mr Amery said: “Normalising security, for me, was a critical piece of work.
“There has always been an assumption that security cannot be talked about. I would actually challenge that and say we should get as many involved as possible.
“This is about pushing beyond our personal best – not just for athletes but in security too.”
The security team coordinated with other LOCOG teams – such as the design team in order to understand where banners and branding would be placed to ensure it didn’t impact on line of sight for CCTV or perimeter intrusion detectors.
There was a national integration both between agencies and with all stff and volunteers – security was built into the training for everyone.
And at an international level, LOCOG held three international conferences, regular embassy briefings and daily security briefings during the Games.
Debrief in Rio
Mr Amery announced that he is due to leave LOCOG in March – after the full debrief has been made in Rio this November.
He said: “Security was integrated in every step of the journey and that for me was the key learning.”
Mr Amery closed his presentation with words from Sebastian Coe at the Olympics Closing Ceremony: “Thank you to the people who stood guard to keep us safe.”
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G4S, the international secure outsourcing group, has agreed a financial settlement with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in respect of the provision of the security workforce for the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games (‘the Games’). The terms of the settlement mean that G4S will incur an overall loss on the contract of approximately £70 million. The group has also incurred additional costs of approximately £11 million relating to charitable donations and external fees and a further £7 million relating to the cost of sponsorship and marketing. All of these costs will be taken… Read more »