The Security Analyst: Security without the ‘seriousness’

Earlier this month, I was one of the very lucky ones (if you call emptying your bank account lucky!) to secure tickets for the Velodrome and the Olympic Stadium andwhat turned out to be one of the greatest days in British sporting history.

I was even caught on camera (although as this is a security-related blog I should stress this was all about the BBC’s cameras and not CCTV!)

While travelling to the Olympic Park early in the morning I thought about the furore that surrounded the G4S recruitment situation in the weeks leading up to the Games, and the doom mongers who advised people to stay away for fear of a seemingly inevitable terrorist attack.

However, from the moment I arrived in the Capital with my brother, both of us decked out in red, white and blue, I experienced an atmosphere in London the likes of which I have never done before.

Extolling the virtues of PSIM

Of course, there has been a huge amount of security infrastructure and technology deployed to safeguard the Games and, in my last video blog, I extolled the huge benefits of PSIM (Physical Security Information Management) in securing facilities of such a size and scale.

In fact, PSIM is the ideal technology for this type of sprawling environment, whether it’s a town or city, airport, rail network or critical infrastructure.

That said, while technology has a huge role to play in creating a safe and secure environment, it’s the people on the ground (working with those behind the scenes) who create the perception and instil the confidence and reassurance of ‘a safe place to be’ for the general public and others occupying the ‘zone’.

As a frequent flyer, I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about the mile long queues that would inevitably lie in wait as I approached security at the entrance to the Olympic Park. After all, this is an all-too-familiar source of frustration at airports these days and I was aware that similar scanners were in use.

To my surprise, though, the queues were minimal. We were greeted with a smile and a very warm welcome and the whole process was remarkably efficient, quick and easy. This meant that the hour or so I had allocated for passing through these checks could be spent taking in the atmosphere instead.

Appropriate for the Armed Forces to be there

Once inside, it’s fair to say that there was a strong military and police presence throughout the Olympic Park, but that didn’t make me feel less safe. In fact the opposite was true. Rather than feeling intimidated by the presence of our Armed Forces it felt appropriate for them to be there. After all, they really are ‘Team GB’, and they seemed to be having as much fun as everyone else (although perhaps not as much as the police if you look at the photo, below, that I took!)

Even as I exited the Olympic Park towards a heaving Stratford Station, the queue was well managed by friendly marshals with megaphones to contain overcrowding. They also kept the throng entertained with some witty observations.

I even noticed a member of our Armed Forces in military fatigues using a child’s scooter to get around quicker. Brilliant!

What;s more, in my professional capacity I have been keeping an eye out for Games-related security incidents in the past ten days. The only real incident of note was the throwing of a bottle on to the track at the start of the men’s 100 metres final. Only six arrests were made within Olympic venues throughout the entire Games period.

Security is a very serious business, and rightly so, but it’s also an industry that’s all about people. What has been shown over the past two weeks is that it can be delivered (albeit prefaced by a huge amount of hard work, planning and dedication) with a smile and a bit of fun and without any compromise on standards.

I hope that this Gold standard can continue. Indeed, for our industry this can be part of the ‘Olympic legacy building’ we hear so much about.

Jamie Wilson is security marketing manager (EMEA) at NICE Systems

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