Met police assistant commissioner in charge of Olympic Games says social media will be monitored for signs of disorder
The man in charge of the policing operation for the London Olympics has promised to learn the lessons of last summer's riots in preparing for the Games and will extensively monitor social media for signs of protest and disorder.
Chris Allison, the Metropolitan police assistant commissioner and national Olympic security co-ordinator, also revealed that he had successfully appealed to chief constables around the country to postpone cuts to certain key areas until after the Games. He said cuts of about 20% to national policing numbers would not affect his ability to deliver during the Games. Up to 12,000 police will be dedicated to policing on the busiest days of the Games, with about 9,500 of them in the capital.
"The plea I made to chief constables was that in specialist areas – firearms, explosive detector dogs, mounted police – could they phase those reductions after the Games. We will have the skills we need during the Games," he said in an interview with the Guardian.
Allison admitted it would be "very challenging" if there were a repeat of the disorder that gripped London. But while a range of factors made it less likely that the scenes of widespread rioting would be repeated, the police were planning how they would respond if they faced similar challenges during the Games.
Twitter and other social media will be monitored for signs of social disorder and, in particular, for organised protest.
"It's about flooding the streets. It's about making sure we've got the assets quickly available across London ... There is a lot of work that is being done anyway [on social media] and we will piggyback on that for the Games. It's about sensible use of intelligence, making sure we analyse it properly," he said.
Allison said: "We're making sure we've got plans so we can respond if required to do so. What I hope is that everyone will say, 'The Games are here, they're fantastic and this will be the only time in our lives we can feel a part of it.
"We have always planned for making sure we had resources to deal with protest and potential disorder."
The 30 miles of Games lanes for the exclusive use of Olympic traffic could, for example, be occupied by protest groups looking to raise the profile of their cause. The torch relay, beginning on 19 May in Cornwall, could also be targeted by protesters.
"There doesn't appear to be anyone who wants to protest against the Games. But there may be those who want to use the Games as a way of getting their cause into the public domain. We are trying to get as much intelligence as we can about the broad range of threats."
As before the royal wedding last year, Allison said that, if there was "intelligence and justification" for taking action before the Games against potential protesters, he would do so.
"If people want to protest within the law, come and speak to us. They have a right to peacefully protest but it doesn't give them the right to stop 10.8 million people going to watch the best athletes in the world compete in their chosen sport."
The issue of Dow Chemical's sponsorship of the wrap that will surround the stadium during the Games could be one magnet for protest from those who believe it has outstanding links to the 1984 Bhopal disaster, while other multinational sponsors could be targeted by anti-capitalist groups.
The security plan for the Games has been devised on the basis of a severe level of threat, one notch above the current status. "It is far better we devise plans based on that severe level of threat from the start. We can always downgrade," said Allison.
He has reported to three Met commissioners since he started in 2008 but Allison, who will sit in a National Olympic Co-ordination Centre at Scotland Yard, said: "Some of the personalities may have changed but none of the plans have changed."
He said his biggest challenge was the "cross-domain stuff", integrating London 2012 organisers who will be responsible for security inside the venues into an overall security plan. "It's making sure the new kids on the block – the new players – understand who does what and when."
Many heads of state will be in London, some with their own, armed, security detail. ," he says.
"There may 120 to 150 protected principles coming for the opening ceremony. It is a hell of a challenge, there's no doubt about that," Allison said.
"We will provide the protection, they will act as liaison. The basic planning assumption is that the only people who carry guns on the streets of the UK are British police officers."
Allison insisted he was confident that the impression for the public would be a "blue Games" patrolled by traditional British bobbies. "[The military] will not be patrolling the streets. We are setting the tone and the security strategy but we have got some support," he said. "It's a sporting event. We can deliver security but we don't have to be oppressive about how we do it."
Allison also sounded a warning to ticket touts and operators of scam websites. Five men were charged this week following a series of arrests for ticket touting offences before Arsenal's Champions League tie with Milan.
Police are clamping down on ticket touts at football matches because, along with the Olympics, they are the only sporting event at which touting is a criminal offence.
"Those who are involved in ticket touting and organised crime around counterfeit tickets and fake hospitality packages, we will come for you. Don't even bother coming to the Games."
But Allison stressed the importance of planning exercises, the most visible of which took place on the streets of London last month. "If we don't get it right, that's our international reputation trashed. We know we've got a hell of a lot of work to do to refine these plans." he said.