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2018 | Book

Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

Securing Mega-Events

Networks, Strategies and Tensions

Authors: Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK

Book Series : Crime Prevention and Security Management

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

Mega-events such as the Olympic Games, World Cup finals and international political summits are occasions of almost unparalleled economic, political and social significance for host nations and cities. The scale and scope of mega-event security has continued to grow enormously since 11 September 2001, consistently involving the largest policing and security operations for event hosts outside of wartime. This book is the first to focus exclusively on the organisational dynamics underpinning the design and delivery of mega-event security.

Using the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia in November 2014 as a case study, in conjunction with comparisons with events such as the Toronto 2010 G20, the authors engage in a comprehensive assessment of the networks, strategies and tensions involved in mega-event security. By drawing on the insightful experiences of those responsible for securing the Brisbane 2014 G20, the authors look behind-the-scenes to capture the complexity of mega-event security. The authors argue that such an approach is essential to better appreciate how different conceptions of security, ways of thinking and acting, impact a range of security ideals and outcomes.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
This chapter provides the introductory context for our book. We first consider the question of how to interpret mega-event security and outline how our approach contributes to the extant literature. We then introduce the internal properties of security networks and argue for the need to better understand the tensions that emerge as police and security actors are brought together to design and deliver mega-event security. Mega-event security, we suggest, is underpinned by tensions within complex networks of overlapping relationships connecting diverse security actors, each with potentially quite different dispositions and imaginations of ‘security’, that have a significant impact on security outcomes. The chapter then outlines our data and methods, incorporating a brief overview of the Brisbane 2014 G20, and the structure of the book.
Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar
Chapter 2. Analysing Mega-Event Security: Looking Inside Operations
Abstract
This chapter analyses some of the challenges associated with securing mega-events and important considerations shaping how police and security actors go about their task of understanding mega-event security. First, we address some of the similarities and differences between mega-events, ranging from sporting events to political summits, and how these differences are interpreted by security actors. Second, we examine questions concerning perceived threats to mega-events, focusing specifically on the potential for conflicting conceptions of ‘security’ to shape a range of outcomes. Third, we concentrate on the complexities underpinning the operational planning and project management of large-scale logistical operations. We conclude by reflecting on the tensions that emerge in pursuit of mega-event security which, we argue, only begin to become sufficiently visible when we cast our gaze inside security operations.
Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar
Chapter 3. Organising Security Actors: Designing New Nodes and Networks
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the formation of new security configurations involved in mega-event security. These include the creation of new agencies themselves, specialised units within agencies and dedicated network structures developed by security actors intended to coordinate the security operation across organisational boundaries. First, we address the specialised units of the G20 Taskforce and the G20 Group, including how these actors or nodes were formed and various tensions concerning their design. Second, we turn to three key networks established by the G20 Taskforce and G20 Group and also examine the design and composition of such networks. The chapter concludes by looking at the internal tensions within security nodes and networks and some of the many variables that accentuate or alleviate these tensions.
Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar
Chapter 4. Organising Across Boundaries: Communication, Coordination and Conflict
Abstract
This chapter analyses the structural and relational properties of the security networks involved in the Brisbane 2014 G20. The first part of the chapter addresses organisational communication and coordination, including the strategies used to communicate across organisational boundaries and various attempts to establish roles and responsibilities among security actors. The second part of the chapter turns attention to other potential causes for conflict arising in the context of organisational relationships, including organisational culture and personal trust, and the mediating properties of formal and informal ties. We conclude by taking stock of the different features and functions of these networks and the actors that comprise them, and the tensions which can arise due to conflicting notions of ‘security’ as well as expectations and norms around processes such as information sharing and decision making.
Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar
Chapter 5. Securing Places: Security Risks, Techniques and Technologies
Abstract
This chapter traces the key jurisdictional and technological attributes involved in constructing security for the Brisbane 2014 Group of Twenty (G20), with a particular focus on emerging dynamics when translating policy from theory to practice. First, we discuss the security overlay as a planning process that sought to allocate jurisdictions and define associated roles and responsibilities among the various security actors. We unpack this ‘three-tier’ structure and reflect on its similarities and differences with recent previous mega-events such as the Toronto 2010 G20. Second, we look at the technologies used to ‘secure’ spaces, noting how the management of technology is leveraged as a way to potentially mediate tensions and conflict. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the overall tensions between ‘event’ and ‘security’, particularly in relation to ideas around ‘look and feel’.
Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar
Chapter 6. Securing Populations: Protests, Residents and Spectators
Abstract
This chapter examines many of the familiar tensions we have come to regard as underlying properties of the Brisbane 2014 Group of Twenty (G20), but with shifting the focus away from the relationship between the G20 Group and G20 Taskforce to the subject of public order policing. The first section of the chapter provides a brief overview of the relationships that shaped how the Queensland Police Service (QPS) approached their role, most notably in terms of engagement with the Toronto Police Service (TPS) on public order policing. The second section considers how the relationship between these actors appears to have underpinned shifts in the practices adopted at Brisbane 2014. The third section analyses these different practices, including their origins and underlying rationalities. We conclude by considering what the QPS’s approach means for public order policing at mega-events.
Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar
Chapter 7. Conclusion
Abstract
This chapter reflects on our main findings with regard to how security actors embark on the task of constructing mega-event security and our contribution to the extant literature. First, we examine the task of organising for mega-event security, including our findings for how security nodes and networks form and function, focusing particularly on the internal tensions inherent to their design. Second, we concentrate on the prevalent theme of divergent conceptions and approaches to ‘security’. We highlight the different ways of thinking and acting within and between security actors, and how these are complicated when moving from theory to practice. Third, we retrace the significance of tensions throughout the security operation. The chapter concludes by suggesting that tensions are an inevitable component of mega-event security networks.
Chad Whelan, Adam Molnar
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Securing Mega-Events
Authors
Chad Whelan
Adam Molnar
Copyright Year
2018
Electronic ISBN
978-1-137-59668-0
Print ISBN
978-1-137-59667-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59668-0