Winter Olympics: Security upgrade for leisure sites
Winter olympic bosses were today working on last-minute changes to security after the US attorney general raised concerns about safety.
The Salt Lake City games begin on February 8 and already have a security budget of more than £200m in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
But today it was revealed attorney general John Ashcroft had ordered major changes to security measures in parts of Salt Lake City away from the venues for the events themselves.
Mr Ashcroft was said to be concerned that terrorists could attack in shopping and restaurant areas of the Olympic city, prompting organisers to increase surveillance of the areas and promise to step up the scale of foot patrols.
President George W Bush is expected to watch the opening ceremony of the games and earlier this month Mr Ashcroft and his top officials toured each of the venues for the major events of the games.
He ordered more officers to cover areas away from the venues themselves where crowds are likely to form before and after major events, and a series of drills involving local and federal police and security forces before the start of the games.
He also told organisers there would be more money for the additional measures.
Robert Flowers, head of security at the games, said: ‘‘We haven’t had all the resources that we’ve needed to cover every base.’’
The last Olympics to be held in America, at Atlanta in 1996, were marred when a pipe bomb killed one spectator and injured more than 100 in an area called Centennial Park, where crowds gathered before and after events.
A Justice Department official said: ‘‘The Justice Department is reminding everyone that our terrorist threat goes beyond Osama bin Laden and al Qaida.
‘‘There are domestic threats as well. I think it’s fair to say we’d like more of everything, from uniformed people to sniffer dogs to surveillance cameras.’’
