THe London Olympics

The London Olympics Security Situation Is Looking Like A Complete Disaster

Samuel Blackstone

Business Insider,

26 April, 2012

Last month, we took a look at G4S, the private security firm heading security measures at this summer's London Olympics. In our research, we noticed some alarming details: a controversial human rights record, connections with Israel's West Bank settlement, and a lack of oversight. 

This week, G4S notified the British government that it wouldn't be able to completely fulfill its contractual obligations (priced at $335 million), explaining it would fall about 3,500 personnel short of the approximately 13,000 personnel expected to be provided, according to the Telegraph. 

Just two weeks before the games, this development is causing a lot of embarrassment for G4S, the London Olympic Organizing Committee, and Britain's Home Office. Now, the government, in particular the military, is left to pick up the pieces. In response, the military will be forced to provide 3,5000 additional troops to help fill the void, putting a strain on an already beleaguered body, many soldiers just returning or preparing for deployment back to Afghanistan. 

Before this announcement, 7,5000 troops had already been deployed throughout London, with 6,000 more on standby. Add 3,500 to that and the number comes in at 17,000, 7,500 more than currently deployed in Afghanistan, according to FindLaw, a subsidiary of Reuters. 

Looking at security for the Games as a whole, the preparation is staggering: 12,000 police, 3,000 volunteers, Typhoon fighter jets, helicopters, two warships, and a slew of bomb disposal teams, FindLaw reports.  

Here's 32 Other Signs That The Olympics Will Be A Disaster >

 

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