Terrorism and Sports, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Terrorism has become a global war in which no country is immune. The IRA has waged a campaign in Britain that lasted over 125 years, the Basque Separatist movement has carried out a terrorist campaign with Spain. The Palestinian and Islamist Jihadist movements are the latest in a long line of terrorist activities. The danger is that they now have a longer reach and threaten other countries with nuclear and biological weapons. Only through a united international campaign will the treat ultimately be defeated.

Terrorists look for platforms that will provide them the maximum amount of media exposure in order to gain publicity for their demands. This often looks at venues where people tend to congregate in mass and as such allows them the maximum potential for damage and killing power. Past events have indicated Sporting Arenas, Olympic Games venues, Airport and Railway stations are preferred viable targets.

Terrorism and Sporting Events

Sporting events provide one of the most ideal platforms for committing acts of terrorism. This is because you have people gathered together in a tightly confined area, with little means of immediate escape. Equally, just the threat of a bomb could itself create panic and result in many deaths as people stampede to evacuate the area. Another concept is that of a sniper who could randomly kill victims with little chance of being discovered. This could result in a number of deaths whilst the assassin quietly disappears in the crowds.

There are a number of different types of terrorist threats that are applicable to that of sporting arenas. These being as follows-

• Bombs or Explosive Devices – Such devices are easy to conceal and can be designed for small or large impact. They can be detonated remotely by wireless devices like that of a cell phone. They offer the most destructive power imaginable in areas of crowd concentration.
• Suicide Bombs – Devices that are planted on individuals and can be detonated in crowded areas for maximum impact. These are often packed with shrapnel or nails in order to act like anti-personnel mines causing huge amounts of personal injury and suffering.
• Sniper – High powered rifle, may contain multiple magazines and pump precision rounds into a crowd. Although more limited than a bomb it could inflict a large number of casualties and inflict both terror and panic that would result in more casualties and deaths.
• Biological Bomb – The release of a biological weapon or nerve agent in a crowd setting. Similar to what was inflicted in a Tokyo subway system.
• Nuclear Threat – A small tactical nuclear weapon could take out an entire sports arena and kill thousands of people. If this was to happen in the London Olympic Games not only would it kill thousands of people, the resulting radioactive fallout of a dirty bomb could render the City unsafe for 150 years. Hence posing economic disaster for the Capital and country concerned
• Contamination – Poisoning or contaminating water supplies

Hard vs. Soft Targets

A hard target would be one where you could cause a maximum impact and amount of collateral damage. The London Olympic Games would be an example of a hard target. The destruction of the Twin Towers was another hard target. Hard targets are more difficult because they require a lot more resources, logistics and planning in terms of carrying out the threat. A soft target might be that of a random killing like a suicide bomber walking into a crowded area in a sports stadium. This requires little planning other than the person evading detection sand capture. The targets are mostly random and they look towards inflicting the maximum amount of deaths and damage possible. They are indiscriminate killing women and children and are designed at maximising the amount of terror.

Current Security Measures at Events

Super Bowl – At the recent super bowl the organizers took a number of anti-terrorist measures but intelligence indicated that on this occasion there was no notified viable threat.

• provided first observer and anti-terrorism and security awareness training to more than 8,000 stadium staff and volunteers;
• Over 3,000 security personnel will be deployed
• The fans will get strict searches and limited in terms of personal items that can be taken into the stadium
• Limited length of 15cms to camera and telescopic lenses
• Only those with tickets will be allowed into a designated security perimeter around the stadium
• Flight restrictions will be in place prohibiting private aircraft from operating in a large radius around the sports complex. (Brewer, P. 2012)

College Games – With the increased number of shooting incidents at College Games venues there has been a need to massively ramp up security measures at large college venues. This has included the development of what has been termed the ‘oversight system’ providing equipment that utilises sophisticated sniffing devices for chemical detection. This in turn communicates information to a remote command and control center and triggers series of surveillance cameras to combat terrorist or similar attacks (Keating, P. 2011)

Sports Venue Security

An important point is that it is impossible to provide a risk free event at any major sports venue. The FBI and law enforcement agencies collaborate to plan appropriate security measures for major sporting events. This includes a risk assessment threat based upon intelligence sources and knowledge of vulnerabilities associated with the venue. One of the most notable threats occurred at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and then the Centennial bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In 2005 the NFL received a radiological threat from a potential ‘dirty bomb’. As such all threats have to be taken seriously. (Hall, S. 2008).

Putting this into context there are around 1,347 sports stadiums in the USA These are also used for concerts, political rallys, graduation events etc. Hence the scope for terrorist activity remains a constant threat throughout the year. In orderv to increase level of preparedness and reduce vulnerability the authorities rely upon:

• Surveillance – Cameras, observers and filming areas around the event;
• Intelligence – Police and other intelligence on know terrorist alerts and threats;
• Security – Computer surveillance and other physical devices;
• Tests – Random spot checks of suspicious people and people who try to access unauthorized areas;
• Trial run – Rehearsals practicing security on the venue before the live event

In addition, the authorities include vulnerability tests which examine such factors as: number of exits at the venue in case of emergency, appropriate crash barriers to get emergency services in, the nearness of hospitals and medical facilities and ability to cope with an emergency, the back up plans that support the main emergency planning and resource strategies. (Chalmers, J. 2011)

Proposed Solutions

The London Olympic Games have placed a regulatory framework around the stadiums used for the Games. They anticipate a blended attack from cyber terrorism combined to on the ground terrorist attacks. There will be 9,000 police officers on duty at the games, 6,500 Special Forces and military personnel. A Royal Marines Fleet Auxiliary ship ( HMS Ocean) will be docked in the Thames providing military and logistics support. The Games Organisers are talking this very seriously and consider a terrorist threat to be a strong possibility. As such these Games will have one of the strongest anti-terrorist nets ever implemented at an Olympic Games venue.

Britain has the added concern that the Games are being held in the Capital City of London and that any terrorist event that may involve nuclear, biological or chemical threat may impose serious damage on the City as a world financial centre and as such have economic disastrous consequences for Britain and the world. (Hervey, L. 2012)

Similarly in the USA the NFL has mandated standards for security in sporting arenas and this needs to be adopted and implemented by the Federal Government. Britain’s Metropolitan Police are learning from the security at Vancouver’s Winter Olympics and incorporating lessons learned from that venue. Increasing international co-operation is vital for these events

References

Brewer, P. (2012, 2 29). Security Measures Being Implemented Ahead of Super Bowl. Retrieved from Voice of America: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Security-Measures-Being-Implemented-Ahead-of-Super-Bowl-138534374.html

Hall, S. (2008). Sport venue security| Planning and preparedness for terrorist events. Smart Journal, Vol 4 Iss 2, 6-15.

Hervey, L. (2012, 2 29). ‘Twin Terror Threat’ To London Olympics 2012. Retrieved from Sky News: http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/15579707

Jim Chalmers, S. F. (2011). More Safety and Security at Sports Grounds. Rothersthorpe UK: Paragon Publishing.

Keating, P. (2011). Industry of fear. ESPN Magazine.