Police morale 'crucial' for successful Games
I'm sorry, London 2012, but I decided to dodge your yesterday and went down to Bournemouth to a conference of the Police Federation.
On the surface, it's not such a sexy and headline-grabbing event but security is the number one priority of every Olympics and the way police forces handle it up and down the country will decide whether the Games are a success or not.
I'm starting to wonder whether we will be asking Britain's police forces to handle too much in 2012's unprecedented "Summer of Security".
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Officers are saying 2012 will be the biggest logistical challenge since the in 1984-5.
That's quite an astonishing thing to say for those old enough to remember the battles we saw during those difficult days but the Games are going to require officers to move away from their homes for weeks. And there won't be much time for leave.
Before the Olympics and Paralympics get under way at the end of July 2012, police forces around the country will have had to deal with the and a long Olympic torch relay around the country.
It's also the summer of the when there is the potential for problems in the UK as large numbers of fans watch games here in bars.
The danger is that many officers will arrive at the Games already jaded.
On busy days the expects to have around 9,000 officers on the streets of the capital. That's 4,000 more than is required for London's biggest logistical challenge of every year -- the .
That means thousands of police will be needed to be drafted in from other forces. There are already plans to house them at a special centre.
When the opening ceremony takes place, it is possible that as many as 150 heads of state or leading politicans will come to London. Imagine the security around that.
The danger is that other policing will suffer and that officers will struggle to handle the hours they will have to work.
New this week that forces would have to share the burden of the recession. That is code for cuts on the way. They are happening in other public sectors and the police are unlikely to escape them.
Many officers are worried about losing their pensions and it's going to be hard for May to keep morale in the police in the next two years if there are major cuts.
And it's morale that is going to be so crucial to the success of the Olympics in the summer of 2012.
I'm ´óÏó´«Ã½ London's Olympics Correspondent, which means I report on every aspect of the preparations for 2012. I'm going to be telling you what people are saying about London's preparations - both in the Olympic corridors of power and on the streets of the capital - and I want to hear your views.
Comment number 1.
At 20th May 2010, photo762 wrote:Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 15th May 2011, adrian wrote:Support is what they need at this huge event, to keep us safe
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