Siege of Vancouver begins, 15,000 security men on duty
Assistant Commissioner Bud Mercer - in charge of 2010 Olympics security.
By Salim Jiwa
VANCOUVER, B.C. – The siege of Vancouver has begun.
Police say 15,000 cops and private security guards have been deployed to secure the 2010 Olympics from disruption.
“Approximately 15,000 people in total who will be involved in the security workforce for the Olympics,” Assistant commissioner Bud Mercer who described the ‘mobilization.’
“When you look at the 15,000 people and how it breaks down, we’re looking at about 6,000 law enforcement people, approximately 4,500 partners from the Canadian Forces, and about 4,800 individuals that are part of our private security package for security,” he said in a video published by the cops.
“The law enforcement family comes from 119 agencies from across the country. It breaks down even further from that to about 4,300 RCMP people, and about 1,700 law enforcement officers from agencies from right across the country other than the RCMP,” he added.
“So truly during the Olympic Games we are going to see police officers from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary standing beside Halifax, standing by Saskatoon, standing by the RCMP, and by Vancouver and Victoria police to name but a few,” Mercer said about the security arrangements likely to cost close to a billion dollars.
118 police departments have sent their cops from across the country.
“These are truly Canada’s Games where one could see police officers from the Toronto Police Service, the RCMP and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary standing shoulder to shoulder in service to this country,” said Mercer who is in charge of games security.
“The representation from across Canada is amazing and the integrated delivery of security during the 2010 Winter Games will provide legacy value for future major events or large scale emergencies that occur in Canada,” he added.
“Every day, all across Canada, police officers pool their skills, expertise and professionalism to protect the public,” says Chief William Blair, President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Whether it’s with adjoining services, or those thousands of miles away, the links are valuable and effective. The fact that the RCMP and 118 police agencies have come together to provide security for the 2010 Olympic Games is in the finest traditions of Canadian law enforcement,” said Toronto’s top cop.
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They have already had to send officers home for misconduct on the cruise ships. What a mess. Somebody needs to explain to the RCMP that you need to guard both the entrances and exits of venues. Some of the venues have 100+ people at the entrance and only 1 at the exit, where do you suppose gate crashers will try to get in. Why pare the security budget down to 300 million when you can spend a billion, what a travesty.