The inaugural International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) World Relay Championships are just a few weeks away, and security measures at and around the stadium have already increased.
Surrounding the stadium now are barricades with security guards within 20 feet of each other, stopping each car that passes. Members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) are making their presence felt, with patrol cars circling the area, as well as officers on foot patrolling the premises. As the time draws nearer for the start of the world relays, security measures will be increased even more to guarantee the safety of the foreign press, athletes and fans.
"We will of course provide full security coverage for the entire country during this period, not just the events around the stadium. We will continue to secure your premises while you are away from home, as well as guarding you on your commute to and from the stadium. There are going to be lots of special patrols around the stadiums, in your neighborhoods and on the highways. There will be volumes of police officers saturating the streets to ensure that all avenues leading into the stadium are under police control," said Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Bethel.
"These officers are there to identify and neutralize any potential problem immediately before it gets to the stadium. Once you get to the stadium we will mount checkpoints, police will be checking everyone at these points to ensure that no one brings in any types of offensive weapons that can be used to harm persons. These checkpoints will be manned by both uniformed and plain clothes officers. We are going to take all precautions to make sure that everyone in the stadium has been sterilized."
One of the major goals of the police and defense force units, as well as the Local Organizing Committee of the world relays (LOC), is to ensure that The Bahamas can host an event of this magnitude without any incidents occurring.
"I want the Bahamian people to know that no one who has a record, or is known by the police for various reasons, will be allowed in the stadium regardless if they have a ticket or not; those on ankle monitoring systems or those with any propensity to do crime will not be allowed near the stadium," said Bethel.
"In walking about the stadium you will see and feel the security we have put in place. This represents months and months of planning since our first work with the IAAF team in July of last year to plan the fencing around the stadium to secure it in sectors. We had some issues during CARIFTA last year, in terms of people walking about and going into areas that they should not have gone," said Senior Director of Security of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) James Carey.
Carey was also the head of security for the CARIFTA Games last year. He was the one who put together the plans concerning how the security team would patrol and handle managing the grounds of
the stadium.
"The IAAF has certain standards and we are mandated to comply with those standards and put in place security in accordance with their standards," he said.
The security plans of the LOC not only had to go through the IAAF, but also through delegates from the various countries who are participating to ensure the safety of their people. Bethel and Carey have been in contact with many of the visiting countries crime leaders, going over their plans for securing the stadium as well as the security measures that will be taken around the rest of the country.
"The job of making sure that everything goes smoothly with the event is not only the job of the police force, but it is the job of every Bahamian to ensure that everything goes well. Events like this can do so much for the economy, and I am hustling hard to try and bring an event of this magnitude to the country every quarter. Every hotel is booked, which means taxis will make money, restaurants will be filled and shops will be making money, so I know that we will not let one person get in the way of what we have going on here," said Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr. Daniel Johnson.
"It is up to us to determine the kind of country that we want to live in, the economy is flat and we are looking for ways to bring in revenue, to get new money into the country, so we are trying fresh ideas and bringing new energy to the country trying to make things better for the Bahamian people. I know that my people will not let one joker spoil things for us," he said.
The high school qualifiers today will serve as a test of the security procedures that will be in effect May 24-25.

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