Swedes and students may have to fill the gap in security officer numbers during the 2012 London Olympics.
Speaking during IFSEC, David Evans, the BSIA’s 2012 director, recalled that London’s winning bid for the games gave a figure of 6500 security guards at games time. (As a comparison, and perhaps a sign of how high-crime South Africa is, the IFSEC 2008 conference heard that the 2010 football world cup in SA will have 45,000 security officers, out of the country’s 387,000 officers.) David Evans spoke of two periods requiring security: before the event begins, and the event itself, with a peak of demand during the event. It is generally agreed that just as labour will be in short supply for various services (all competing for labour) at that time, so security guarding will be short of the perhaps 8,000 bodies required. David Evans said: "If you look at almost all the major games in the last ten years, including Commonwealth and local games, private security has failed to deliver the manpower requirements at games time; so it is essential that we know what the gap is now, and plan."
And as BSIA chief exec David Dickinson said during IFSEC, no one guarding company can provide all the officers required; and there will be pressure from existing customers, besides perhaps a need to provide bed and board for officers from outside the area. "Although we are four years away, time is of the essence," he said. He floated the idea of the government paying student fees in the last year, if students committed to working at the games (and getting the necessary training beforehand) during their summer holiday. The 2012 building in east London may already be having an effect on pay in some UK regions, electronic security engineering reportedly being attracted from as far afield as Plymouth to the games site. David Evans spoke too of some contracts already having penalty clauses if staff are taken off site to work on the games.
David Dickinson added: "It’s going to be a most fantastic showcase for security. It’s a real chance for the security guarding sector to demonstrate that it actually is an important resource in public reassurance and safety. We don’t want to be second-class cops; we want to be first-class support." The Olympics bring risks, too, to security and loss prevention people, however; for example, given that London will require a fair chunk, perhaps a tenth, of the UK’s policing, where might that leave police response in the rest of the country. Guarding providers may think twice whether temporary games work is worth the wait (not least for payment) if Olympics demands hurt regular customers. As at the 2002 Manchester games, shortfalls in local security and stewarding guardforces could require stewards – and indeed police? – from abroad.
During the IFSEC conference, Errol Pease, a member of the board of governors of the South African Institute of Security, described the training and preparations for the 2010 World Cup. Deployed by the authorities will be helicopters; fixed-wing light aircraft; water cannon; and command vehicles. Private security will be responsible for security in the stadia, supported by police; while police will lead the overall security operation. In SA, stewards are classified as event security officers. All security officers are required to register with the country’s private security industry regulatory authority, and need a police criminal clearance. That staff clearance, using police data, has been outsourced to the private sector.
