International. The 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament will take 32 national teams and more than 400,000 foreign football fans from around the world to 12 venues in 11 cities across Russia. Fans flock to cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. Given continued global concerns about terrorism, security is paramount.
The protection of World Cup games in Russia is focused on an "integrated approach to safety, security and service," according to officials. Combining the term "safety" with the terms "safety" and "service" is not an accident. An aggressive safety attitude is necessary, but at the end of the day, fan safety is paramount, and a service-oriented approach ensures a positive fan experience. Medical responders will work side-by-side with police and counterterrorism personnel.
Risk management best practices
We asked Sean T. Horner and Ben Joelson, directors of the Chertoff Group, a global advisory firm focused on security and risk management best practices, to comment on safety at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Although not involved in winning the 2018 World Cup, Chertoff Group has experience in the security of large events and companies using risk management, business practices and security.
Integration is another important aspect of protecting games, Horner says. The use of multiple resources, including Russian military, intelligence and law enforcement, will be tightly integrated to provide the best security for the large-scale event in each of the host cities, he says. The approach will be centralized and flexible, with a deployment of resources guided by effective situational awareness. Security and emergency operations centers will be dispersed in each host city.
"There is a unified command structure at the level of the Russian Federation, which will keep resources in reserve and move them as needed to various events and locations based on any specific intelligence, in fact implementing resources where the threats are greatest," Joelson says. "There will also be some regional commands, and the resources will incorporate a spectrum of police and military personnel ranging from the 'online police' to the Spetsnaz, the Russian 'special forces'. Emergency operations and primary security centers will be scattered throughout each host city, and additional forces can be changed as needed, he notes.
Role of Law Enforcement
In Russia, the lines of separation between law enforcement and the armed forces are not as severe as in the United States, for example, where the Posse Comitatus Act restricts the deployment of military forces to law enforcement. In Russia, there is no such restriction.
A wide range of technology will play a role in the World Cup, Horner and Joelson agree. The technology will be used primarily as a force multiplier and decision support tool for security personnel. Robust CCTV systems exist in many Russian cities, and mobile CCTV systems, such as camera towers or mobile security centers on wheels, will also be implemented. The technologies will include infrared cameras, flood lights and ferromagnetic detection systems to examine hundreds of people as they walk.
In some places, facial recognition systems will be used, linked to various intelligence, military and police databases of known actors. Behavioral analyses will be used as a decision support tool. In addition to security in public areas, private CCTV systems will be used in hotels, in transportation centers and within the premises themselves. Video detection and analysis will help staff check the live view of people who may be acting suspiciously or leaving a bag unsupervised.
A Fan ID card is required to participate in the 2018 World Cup Tournament, including for Russian residents
In some places, facial recognition systems will be used, linked to various intelligence, military and law enforcement databases of known actors.
Rigorous counter-terrorism measures
A Fan ID card is required to participate in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Tournament, including for Russian residents.
The Russians have an aggressive stance against domestic terrorism, which will also help ensure the security of World Cup games, Horner and Joelson say. The terrorist group ISIS has promised "unprecedented violence" at the games, but they make similar threats at every major global event. Russia has been an active force that has affected ISIS in Syria, and experts suggest that losing ground geographically could lead to the addition of "asymmetric" terrorist attacks.
However, Russia is leveraging all its intelligence resources to identify plots and deploy its security apparatus to disrupt any planned attacks, experts say. Russia's rigorous counterterrorism measures include a total ban on aircraft and other flying devices (such as drones) around stadiums hosting the World Cup.
