72,000 Operatives To Watch Over Madrid 2016

More Than 72,000 Operatives To Watch Over Madrid 2016’s Olympic Security

Madrid, 14 April 2009 - A large integrated presence of more than 63,000 members of the Spanish Brigades and Forces of the department for State Security, Armed Forces, Municipal Police, Fire Brigade and SAMUR Civil Defence will be charged with guaranteeing the security of visitors, citizens and competitors if Madrid is finally chosen as the city to celebrate the Olympic Games in 2016. In addition, another 9,500 members belonging to private security companies and 6,000 volunteers would be added to these forces. This announcement was made by the Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón following a meeting of the Madrid 2016 Security Round Table attended by the Minister of the Interior Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Government delegate Soledad Mestre, and authorities from the National Body of Police and the Civil Guard. “Our intention”, the Mayor underlined, “is that all members of the Olympic family and all citizens are able to enjoy an Olympic Games and a city where the only protagonists are the people”.

During the last year, a working team made up of the Ministry of the Interior, City Council of Madrid and members of the Olympic Office have developed Chapter 13 of the Madrid candidacy dossier dedicated to security and have laid the foundations of a security model for the Olympic Games upheld by two pillars: guaranteeing the unity of command and ensuring coordination between different authorities responsible for those bodies and services that would participate in the security provision for the Games.

The working group has also developed a preventative plan to reinforce the security of the future Olympic venues until 2 October, the date on which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will designate the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games.

10,000 Police

The Municipal Police Force of Madrid is the most important regional police body of Spain and in Europe. It is made up of 7,000 police offices, which forms up a ratio of 2.5 officers for every 1,000 inhabitants, much higher than that of other large cities. The mayor has announced that the force will expand to reach 8,500 officers in 2012 and up to 10,000 in 2016: “This relates to an organization that we have modernized during the last six years, and through creating the Body of Mobile Officers, we have removed from the police the responsibility of regulating traffic. The result is that, in accordance with the Eurostat data – the Statistical Agency of the European Union – we are now the fourth safest capital in Europe (of the 13 analysed capital cities), ahead of other big cities including London, Paris and Berlin.”

In addition to the improvement of the security objective, the Madrid City Council wants to show Madrid as an open and warm city. For this, it is vital to prevent and combat any factor that could generate insecurity or appearance of criminal behaviour. Ruiz-Gallardón underlined: “Moreover, we want citizens and visitors to feel close to police. Added to the existing offices of every district precinct will be 23 physical offices serviced in a number of languages, including French, English, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic”.

Security in 5 Minutes

This network would be reinforced with a permanent office for the use of the general public at all of the Olympic installations from which any incident will be able to be resolved. The Madrid City Council, along with other services such as the Fire Brigade, and SAMUR Civil Defence which reinforces this concept of integrated security. Continues Ruiz-Gallardón, “The result of all this allows us to affirm that, in these moments, when 77% of venues are already either built or planned, all the Olympic areas would count on an installation for security and emergencies in less than 5 minutes, including the Manzanares River where the Arganzuela Integrated Unit is under construction.

Another guarantee that Madrid offers is an effective, coordinated and immediate response to any eventuality. One function that the Integrated Centre for Security and Emergency Servics (CISEM), formed of the SAMUR Civil Defence, Fire Brigade, Municipal Police and Mobility Officers, will fulfil and facilitate is a perfect coordination with the National Police force – also present in this central alliance - the Civil Guard, the 112, and the private security services of RENEFE (Spain’s national rail system) and the Madrid’s Metro service.

Madrid’s guarantees in organizing an Olympic Games in accordance with the most demanding security criteria are reinforced by complementary experience in the management of large numbers of people such as the Noche en Blanco, the visits of the Pope or the Procession of the Three Kings at Epiphany with nearly one million participants, and others sporting events such as at football matches where between 60,000 and 80,000 spectators attend each week; the Tennis Masters Series; the Public Marathon. Moreover, Spain has already demonstrated its good practice on numerous occasions such as the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, the Expo of Seville, and most recently during the 2007 Copa America in Valencia and the 2008 Expo of Zaragoza.

ENDS

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