Ten days before the Olympic Games start in Athens, passes allowing vehicles into several venues, including the Olympic village, have been stolen. A security source told the Telegraph that the passes were taken from the windscreens of unattended official vehicles.
Genius. But it gets better!
According to sources in Athoc, the games have been hit by another security failure, after plans to check the backgrounds of staff, contractors and volunteers were dropped as organisers ran out of time. The problems began in mid-May, when organisers began recruiting 7,000 workers to undertake jobs from general receptionists to housekeepers at the Olympic village. With so many people to process in only three months, the planned background checks were scrapped.
This sounds like the makings of a secure situation...
Now thousands of staff and contractors with unverified histories are moving freely around supposedly secure venues because formal accreditation passes, bearing photos of the holder, have still not been issued. Instead, Athoc is relying on so-called "bump-in" passes, which are handwritten and issued without photographs or background checks.
The accreditation problem is so worrying that police and soldiers guarding some venues are now asking workers for a passport or other documents to supplement the inadequate passes.
Unbelievable. I'll be watching from my couch, thanks. |