GamesBids.com: Security at Vancouver 2010 Paralympics Low Key

Security at Vancouver 2010 Paralympics Low Key
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GB Staff on Monday, March 8, 2010  11:22am EST
 
There will be less security at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Paralympic Games that
begins on Friday, compared to the Olympic Games, reports The Canadian Press.
Only 750 RCMP, officers, 500 Canadian military personnel, and a handful of
private security screeners will be required for the 10-day event said Constable
Mandy Edwards of the Olympic Integrated Security Unit (ISU).
Edwards said fewer staff would be needed because there are only 11 Paralympic
sports and non-competition venues to secure, compared to 30 for the Olympics.
About 15,500 police, military and private security personnel protected the
Olympics, including 6,000 police from across Canada. For the Paralympics the ISU
will only use officers from British Columbia, except for a few specialized units
such as additional dog handlers.
There will also be fewer road closures, though parking at all sports venues is
still banned; and the marine security perimeter for waterside venues has shrunk,
said Edwards.
The ISU is also considering whether to shrink the canopy of restricted airspace
over Vancouver, site of two events - sledge hockey and wheelchair curling; and
Whistler, home to three Paralympic ski events.
Security officials have dropped the requirement that charter, business and
regional airline flights from smaller centres be pre-screened before flying into
Vancouver.
Pedestrian screening will only take place at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
at B.C. Place Stadium and at the Olympic villages in Vancouver and Whistler.
Meanwhile the Olympic cauldron, which will be relit for the Paralympics, will
be no more accessible than it was during the Olympics.