Homeland Security Standards for UK Horse Racing
The John Smith’s Grand National, which is part of the Aintree Festival in Merseyside in the UK, is so popular a horse racing event that the local police hedge their bets for a safe public experience by using state-of-the-art security measures. Punters are treated to bag searches and scanner checks as though they were readying for an airplane journey rather than a simple afternoon of horse racing pleasure! Dogs search the venue for drugs and bombs. It’s all for the public benefit, the police assure anyone who complains, and they assure everyone that the precautions are routine and not in response to any specific threat.
So what’s with the helicopter? The Merseyside have pressed a whirlybird in to service, and it has-hold on to your horses-a camera that can record faces of wannabe thieves and even registration plates of cars, while hovering in the sky above them! Apparently, this will deter potential criminals from planning their nefarious activities, and will help to pick them up should they succeed in any serious misdemeanor! This will greatly increase security!
So, stay away from Merseyside if you plan anything unlawful, and book your travel and accommodation for the keenly-awaited event if you are just a horse racing enthusiast!
Merseyside was the victim of a bomb threat in 1997, but has been safe and secure since then.
