Olympics team plans security system

Named the National Olympic Coordination Centre (Nocc), it is being set up to coordinate the activities of emergency services and other agencies to support security operations and the responses to any incidents at the Games. Officials of the Olympic Security Directorate (OSD) told Kable's Transforming Blue Light Services conference, held in London on 24 November, that Nocc has been procured, should be in place by March 2011, and will be used in a large command post exercise in September or October. They would only describe the supplier as a subcontractor to the OSD. Steve Whatson, director of ICT for the Olympics for the Metropolitan Police and OSD, said it will not take over from the command and control centres, but that: "It's a fundamental part of the policing operation. Communications will be critical to the way the emergency services respond to any incidents." Commander Ian Quinton, head of security architecture and design for the OSD, said the main advantage of the Nocc will be its ability to provide a single picture of security operations around the Games. "The Nocc will not replace the responsibility of commanders," he said. "It's great strength is that when you deal with incidents in multiple areas you have to prioritise, and this helps to facilitate that. It also helps you to join up with non-security operations, such as transport, and works for multiple incidents with multiple goals." He added that there could be a possible use for the system after the Olympics.