Olympic Security Shambles

Are G4S a Homeland Security Risk?

The chief exec of G4S, Nick Buckles, has been quoted as saying that their private security firm only realised at the beginning of the week that they wouldn’t have enough guards to protect the London Olympics 2012 (which starts July 27th). He went further; publicly apologising for the firm’s failure.

Olympic Games 2012

He as admitted to the BBC, that they are “sorry for what happened”, adding that the firm is “bitterly disappointed”. The mess could loose G4S up to £50m to fund the deployment of British troops, and has felt a drop in their share price over the week (with nightly news reports fuelling the Games furore).



 This problem has required the government of Britain to meet this deficit in security by deploying over 3,000 troops. (G4S was supposed to supply over 10,000 guards; but blamed application processing for the blunder.) The troops will be on stand-by in case they’re needed.

Some of the would-be recruits have been contacting media outlet to report that G4S recruitment and training of X-ray scanning for the Games security was a fiasco. A lot of the security guards may not be able to speak English. Some students and others in current employment – which means that training for these individuals, will have to be rushed, closer to the opening of the Games. There are even 3,000 unpaid volunteers amongst the ranks of G4S’ security staff for the Olympics.

There will be police at the venue also; there are 12 police forces working with the London Organising Committee (the Locog) –and the military and G4S– to ensure the necessary security is in place.

This only proves how the government is letting-down the country by their bid to privatise policing. If ‘the world’s leading security solution’ –as the G4S Group describes itself– cannot handle a world event like the Olympic Games, then no one can.

The government should leave policing to the professionals. Not cowboys and incompetents, who only aim is profit at any cost. (The contract for the Olympics’ security, which G4S Group won, is worth a cool £284m.) So even with a fall in share prices and a bill of £50m to reimburse for troop deployment, G4S find themselves on a massive earner. This loss to British taxpayers would have been better invested in British policing which is under threat from privatisation by the government.

The privatisation of policing in Britain may soon be in the hands of private security firms like G4S – who have already proved they aren’t competent enough to replace the good old British bobby.


If you too believe that the public deserves better, please go to The Police Debating Directive and show your support for Britain’s Police force.