The barbaric and heinous terrorist acts carried out on Friday in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad should signal that no country is immune from such malicious behaviour.
More specifically sporting events and arenas may be targeted as was the case in Paris where three (3) attackers were foiled outside the 80,000 capacity Stade de France which was hosting a friendly international between the host and Germany with French President Francois Hollande in attendance.
Hall, Marciani and Cooper (2008), in their paper Sport Venue Security: Planning and Preparedness for Terrorist-Related Incidents provide valuable information related to minimising the potential of unwanted security breaches at sporting events especially mega-sporting events.
According to the authors sporting events are vulnerable to threats ranging from fan violence, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Given the fact that terrorist attacks are unpredictable, they argue that it is critical as to how security managers prepare, respond and deal effectively with the possible consequences of any incident.
According to the FBI, terrorism is “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (p.6).
According to the Hall et al (2008), terrorists may use conventional or highly destructive means. Conventional means include knives, guns, and bombs and weapons of mass destruction include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives.
Mega sporting events may be the target of terrorists as they seek to identify events where there is a large assemblage of people to provide for mass casualties. A notable terrorists attack at a major sporting event was the 1972 Munich Olympics.
With the spate of terrorist attacks, the Summer Olympics is a potential event for attacks especially as the western world will be represented by its leading athletes.
The authors state that “the consequences of an incident at a sports event could result in mass casualties and destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Targeting sports can negatively affect future attendance at sports events, subsequently decreasing ticket sales and the demand for airline, travel, tourism, lodging, dining, and recreation services, as experienced after 9/11” (p.7).
Hall et al (2008) further stated that “specific terrorist threats such as explosives, suicide bombers, arson, hostage taking and active shooters are a major concern to sport stadiums and arenas” (p.9). Potential terrorist activity that sport event managers should be aware of include:
• Surveillance: someone may observe the target area to determine the strengths and weaknesses, and number of personnel that might respond to an incident. It is therefore important to take note of anyone recording activities, taking notes, or using video/camera/ observation devices.
• Elicitation: involves individuals attempting to gain information about certain operations. For example, terrorists may acquire knowledge about a stadium structure and the location of security personnel during game time.
• Test of Security: usually conducted to measure reaction times to breaches of security and to test physical security barriers for weaknesses. For example, individuals trying to access unauthorised areas of your facility.
• Acquiring Supplies: someone has purchased or stolen explosives, weapons, or ammunition near your site; this may also include acquiring security passes or uniforms that make it easier for entrance to prohibited areas of your facility.
• Suspicious People: this may be someone on your staff that does not fit in because of their unusual behavior, language usage, or unusual questions they are asking.
• Trail Run: before the final attack, terrorist normally conduct a “dry run” to address any unanticipated problems. This may include recording emergency response times.
• Deploying Assets: people and supplies are getting in position to commit the act. This is the final sign and last chance to thwart an attack” (p.9).
In the aftermath of 9/11, the authors noted that several common vulnerabilities were identified at collegiate sport venues in the US. These included:
• Lack of emergency and evacuation plans specific to sport venue;
• Inadequate searching of venue prior to event;
• Inadequate searches of fans and belongings;
• Concessions not properly secured;
• Dangerous chemicals stored inside the sport venue;
• No accountability for vendors and their vehicles; and
• Inadequate staff training in security awareness and response to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) attacks” (p.10).
According to Homeland Security the following best practices should be carried out at all sporting venues:
• conducting security assessments,
• increasing perimeter security,
• enhancing detection monitoring capabilities,
• establishing access control, and
• reinforcing employee procedures to ensure knowledge of emergency protocol (DHS.gov, 2004).
As we prepare for a series of FIFA World Cup qualifiers at home including a game against the US, will be interesting to see how much of the measures mentioned above are implemented.