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Editors --- "Olympic players shaping up in fine form" [1998] AUFPPlatypus 36; (1998) 61 Platypus: Journal of the Australian Federal Police, Article 7


Olympic players shaping up in fine form

While elite athletes are already training for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the AFP also has preparations well under way.

First responsibility for Games security lies with the NSW Police Service, however, the AFP has responsibility for protecting Commonwealth interests in partnership with other agencies.

This collaborative approach will allow the Commonwealth to position itself so it can effectively respond to the demands of the Games and with their fast approach, planning for our performance is crucial.

Federal Agent Steve Jackson was appointed Director, Specialist Operations in Eastern Region, Sydney, in July with primary responsibility for operational planning and implementation of AFP strategies for the Games.

In this new role, Federal Agent Jackson will bring together both the local and national perspectives by working closely with a network of Olympic coordinators representing all regions and functional areas of the AFP — essentially the AFP's ‘Olympic Team'. By building on the work already done by the Special Events Planning Team in Canberra, Federal Agent Jackson and his ‘Olympic Team' will work together to identify operational strategies and implementation plans.

The AFP's jurisdiction is often described as being ‘between Australia and the rest of the world'. With advances in technology and increasing globalisation, Australia does not exist in isolation from the rest of the world. The AFP operates in an environment rich in potential for problems including fraud upon the Commonwealth, illicit drug importation, immigration offences, intellectual property offences and security threats; as well as providing opportunities for politically motivated violence to exist and flourish. These problems must be counteracted through the implementation of sound operational strategies. The AFP's position at Games time will be no different.

Federal Agent Jackson said that the AFP will perform various key roles in the lead up to, during and after the Games, including:

• Leadership and management in the investigation of Commonwealth offences.

• Close personal protection to Australian High Office holders and heads of foreign diplomatic and consular missions who are at threat.

• Participation in the provision and analysis of strategic criminal intelligence.

• Community policing in the ACT, including security at Olympic Soccer competition and training venues, Canberra Airport and at the Athletes Village in Canberra.

• Providing an interface between Australian law enforcement agencies and those in other countries through the AFP overseas liaison officer network.

• Reviewing and developing law enforcement arrangements with other Commonwealth and State agencies.

• Providing support, wherever possible, to the NSW Police Service.

The success of the security of the Games will be reliant upon the cooperation and collaboration of Commonwealth and State agencies, which has been recognised by the establishment of strong working partnerships and alliances. An example of such alliances include the AFP and the NSW Police Service: Federal Agent Jackson is working closely with the Officer-in-Charge of the NSW Police Olympic Security Command Centre in Sydney, Commander Paul McKinnon, and Federal Agent Garry McGufficke was seconded to the OSCC earlier this year to take up the role as Manager, Dignitary and Athlete Protection Intelligence Unit.

Partnerships and alliances have already been established with other Commonwealth agencies including, but not limited to: the Australian Customs Service, the National Crime Authority, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Defence Force, the Protective Security Coordination Centre and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. These relationships will be further developed in the lead up to the Games, as will relationships with other police services, which will be vital due to the number of Olympic Soccer qualifying events to be held interstate.

Planning for the Sydney Olympic Games has drawn on experience from past summer and winter Olympics including Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta and Nagano and other major sporting events such as the recent Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games which Federal Agent Jackson attended with other Australian officials.

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games will involve 197 countries, 10,200 athletes, 5100 officials, 20,000 accredited media and has been forecast to cost $2.3 billion.

"The opportunities provided by the staging of the Games in Australia will undoubtedly impact on the criminal environment, due to the increased opportunity for organised, globalised and transnational crime," Federal Agent Jackson said. "The AFP's responsibility is to provide a Commonwealth law enforcement capability and, within that, strategies to meet our normal core business activities.

"To be truly effective in our pro-active approach, we need not only to target the areas where there is a recognised potential for things to happen but to do so in partnership with other agencies in Australia and overseas. In a general sense, we'll be doing nothing different to what we do today, but we will be trying to do it better and smarter."


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