In the article Boston ramps up security ahead of first marathon since bombing Boston officials promised Saturday to ramp up security for the upcoming April 21st race. This enhancement to security comes along with a caveat for patrons – have fun. They want runners and spectators alike to enjoy the tradition as they always have. Mayor Martin Walsh said during a press conference in front of city hall, “Our goal is for everyone to enjoy the race.”
This is the first running of the race since the bombing last year that took the lives of three people and injured 264. Officials underlined that this year’s security will not only be at the finish line, along the entire course 100 security cameras and more than 50 observation points are installed.
Even with all these enhancements Boston Marathon officials recognize one major challenge:
The 26.2 mile spread of the Boston Marathon through municipalities introduces more difficulty for security staff to coordinate protocols.
Question: As Facility Managers and Security Professionals what’s our takeaway from the Boston Marathon?
I’ll tell you! It’s quite simple, actually. In this profession, focus and alertness is a requirement, because many times superior preparation still may not be enough. Accepting this challenge and aiming your efforts on overcoming this is the key to the ‘finish line’ of the security ‘marathon’. Providing your guests, visitors, or patrons with an environment conducive of fond memories - that's what it's all about.
We recommend you create a security strategy, implement it, and constantly fine-tune it. Take the time to develop contingency plans and always prepare for what you may not currently be prepared for. The event management tools that allow you to do this already exist. We promise.
Lastly, in the pursuit of perfection security professionals should always strive to predict unknown variables, invent processes to prevent them, then utilize already available, effective tools to implement them. That’s how we win the race.
Source: Reuters via MSN News
