Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis will know that I’m partial to the odd football match. That being the case, to unwind after IFSEC International and a house move (my timing wasn’t ideal!) I decided to sit in front of the television for a spot of rest and relaxation and fuel my excitement for the European Championships.
I tuned in to watch BBC Panorama which placed the spotlight on the host nations of Poland and Ukraine. The programme featuring reporter Chris Rogers revealed images of racism and violence. It subsequently provoked widespread international debate as to whether it depicted an accurate representation of football in these countries.
As a result, the families of several England players announced that they would not travel for fear of their own safety.
So, while I was trying to forget about the security world, albeit for a short while, I was reminded of one of the hot topics being discussed in the halls at the NEC last month: that of the Safe City.
Creating a Safe City
When talking about the concept of creating a Safe City the attention inevitably turns to our own capital, where the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games is set to take place in less than 50 days. Cynically, those who have been lucky enough to obtain tickets are often greeted with the response: “Well, you know that it’s likely there’ll be a terrorist attack!”.
Such comments have been fuelled by media hype around, for example, missile launchers being placed on residential buildings.
As I return to the world of work following last weekend’s events celebrating Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee I’m inclined to say that London has demonstrated what a Safe City can and should be.
Last Friday, hundreds of thousands of people lined a seven-mile stretch of the River Thames in the pouring rain to watch the Jubilee pageant (I was very happy to be watching the pomp and circumstance from the warmth and comfort of my own sitting room). The next day, the stretch of ground from the gates of Buckingham Palace all the way down to Admiralty Arch was full of people watching the Jubilee concert and, on Tuesday, people could be seen all the way from the Mall to St Paul’s Cathedral.
Of course there were the odd few incidents, but that’s to be expected in London at the weekend. There were also some problems as the transport system struggled to cope with the masses, but the contrast between those proudly waving the Union flag and those hurling Molotov cocktails during the riots of last August was stark.
Obviously, there was a huge police presence alongside the colourful ceremonial military displays. However, from the scenes on my TV and the anecdotes I hear from people who braved the elements and the hours of waiting, the policing and security administered was far from obtrusive and the incidents they had to deal with were few and far between.
Conjuring up a unique atmosphere
There’s nothing quite like the unique atmosphere the British public manages to conjure up for a Jubilee celebration, a Royal Wedding or even a big football match, but it’s important that those responsible for overseeing such events does so in the correct manner such that citizens, visitors and businesses alike can view them free from harm.
At IFSEC International, the finer technical aspects of how to ‘build’ a Safe City were widely discussed, in the main focusing on how public safety organisations and the multitude of siloed infrastructures can be co-ordinated and integrated in heavily populated urban environments to proactively monitor, respond to and manage situations based on the adoption of Best Practice.
As I look forward to watching, with fingers crossed, to see if the England team can silence its many critics over the next few days and weeks, I also hope that the towns and cities throughout the Ukraine and Poland do the same.
While I don’t have any tickets for the Olympic Games, after the success of the Diamond Jubilee I feel confident that London will once again show the rest of the world what a Safe City looks like.
Jamie Wilson is security marketing manager (EMEA) at NICE Systems
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