With the Olympics now just over 200 days away, Special Safety Secretary at Brazil’s Ministry for Justice, Andrei Rodrigues, has assured spectators, athletes and volunteers that security is a top priority for the 2016 Games.
Over 47,000 Brazilian security professionals are under Rodrigues’ charge and they’ll be joined by about 38,000 armed services members in securing the Games. The grand total of the security force represents the largest in Brazilian history.
“We’re going to bring 10,000 officers from the national force to Rio. And, we’ll have almost 5,000 federal police officers from other parts of Brazil,” says Rodrigues.
To help prepare the massive squad for what will be required to maintain safety during the world’s biggest competitive event, approximately 100 Brazilian police officers traveled to several large-scale international sporting events last year to glean best practices. The officers learned about security measures taken at the 2015 European Games in Baku, the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing, as well as the Boston and Berlin marathons, among others.
“We have implemented the Integrated Anti-Terrorism Centre, a specific body of police, law enforcement and intelligence, to increase the exchange of information, training and knowledge,” says Rodrigues. “Police from several countries are working with us, mutual cooperation between countries is vital.”
Rodrigues also says the team will be focusing efforts on making the entire city of Rio de Janeiro safer, not only honing in on the Olympic venues alone.
“We cannot think about staging the Games if the city as a whole isn’t safe. A very large effort is underway to maintain safety on a daily basis. The Games will signify reinforcement in security, wherever that may be,” Rodrigues said.
The alliteration in this title is magnificent