Like the stunning shell of a sports car, the grandeur of the Olympic Games will hide the technical preparations needed to host one of the world's biggest sporting events.
And though unnoticed by most, those behind-the-scenes preparations are as vital to the Games as a well-tuned engine to a car.One of those invisible aspects is security. Just a few weeks after Utah learned it would host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, law enforcement officials from 18 jurisdictions met in Salt Lake County to discuss what needed to be done to make the Games safe.
How big an issue is security during the Olympics?
"I think after Munich (in 1972 11 Israeli athletes were killed), everybody kind of had an idea of what kind of security problems (the Olympics) brings," said state director of public safety Doug Bodrero. "If you're a terrorist and you want to get attention . . . what better time than the Olympics?"
He said he's been told it's like "hosting two Super Bowls a day for two weeks." It is a task that will require thousands of officers from local, state and federal jurisdictions.
Bodrero is the co-chairman of a committee formed by law enforcement officials to define the issues and determine how to address them. Salt Lake police chief Ruben Ortega is the other chairman.
Ortega gave a presentation to a member of the International Olympic Committee in May, a month before Salt Lake City was awarded the Games. He said one of the things that impressed Ashwini Kumar of India was the willingness among Utah's law enforcement agencies to cooperate.
Kumar is a retired director general of India's border security force and has helped oversee security for the Olympics since 1981. He also served as a member of the IOC Evaluation Commission that rated Salt Lake City superior to other bid cities.
After Salt Lake City was selected by the IOC to host the 2002 Winter Games, Ortega said officials realized even more the need for a "unified front."
Bodrero agreed, adding that officials from other Olympic host cities described problems they'd had getting different police jurisdictions to work together.
"We decided collectively that's not going to happen in Utah," Bodrero said.
Atlanta law enforcement officials began planning the massive security effort for the 1996 Summer Games four years in advance. They told Utah officials that wasn't enough time.
Although much of the work will be handled by local law enforcement agencies, the federal government will be in charge of security during the Games, Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee spokesman Mike Korologos said.
"It's going to be a Herculean task," Korologos said. "It's good to be planning early."
Olympic organizers have budgeted $30 million for security and law enforcement costs. The money is expected to come from the federal government, the only taxpayer subsidy planned for the Games.
Bodrero said security responsibilities will include everything from traffic control to protecting dignitaries and athletes. The security also includes regulating who participates in the Games and the festivities.
Utah law enforcement officers plan to work in both the Atlanta Summer Games next year and the Winter Games hosted by Japan in 1998.