The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Assistant Commissioner and National Olympics Security Coordinator for London 2012, Chris Allison, delivering lecture at the Civil Defence Auditorium.
Doha: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Assistant Commissioner and National Olympics Security Coordinator for London 2012 Chris Allison said that the London 2012 was the biggest sporting event of that year, where the accurately executed and well-planned security arrangements made it a huge success. The Olympics 2012 hosted 14,700 athletes and 11 million fans, he added.
He was delivering a lecture organised by the Ministry of Interior on London Olympics and Paralympics 2012 to understand the measures taken by UK in securing the biggest world sporting event that concluded successfully last year.
The programme was held on Thursday at Civil Defence Auditorium under the patronage of the Minister of State for Interior Affairs H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. the Ministry organised a lecture The Director General of Public Security (DGPS) H E Staff Maj Gen Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, president of Qatar Football Association H E Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the legal adviser to the Minister of State H E Maj Gen Dr Abdullah Al Maal and directors and assistant directors of MoI departments attended the function.
The programme was also attended by MPS Chief Superintendent and National Coordinator, Protect & Prepare Jim Busby. He pointed that the security plan was implemented based on several axes, including a systematic and coherent national approach that has been pre-tested successfully, with the distribution of roles and responsibilities according to the normal national guidance and raising the level of preparedness to a high and critical level.
“The authorities identified a number of security risks to deal with them in case of occurrence such as terrorist activity, criminal activity including organised and serious crimes, public protest and domestic extremism and non-malicious hazards like pandemic or heat wave”, the assistant commissioner said.
He added that the National Olympics Security Coordinator Provided leadership, advice, guidance & support to Olympic Gold Commanders, provided single point of coordination for all safety & security partners and the single link with government as well he ensured that the necessary briefings and updates supplied to government and Gold Commanders. He also worked closely with National Director of Counter Terrorism Policing on any counter terrorism matters of impact on the Games.
MPS Chief Superintendent Jim Busby said that the Olympics venues were by its architectural design itself by involving multi-agency group such as crime prevention design advisors, counter terrorism advisors, police operational specialists, Government and Fire Service, etc. He added that the team worked together with architects, building designers and organising committee and examined detailed building and landscape plans for all security and safety risks of crime, protest, terrorism and public safety. They generated appropriate and proportionate design options to reduce or remove those risks using national and International Standards where possible.
“All security agencies were able to follow every change in design as they were embedded with the developers and organising committee teams. Security assurance programmes ensured that agreed designs were actually put in place on site”, said Jim Busby.
The Peninsula
