ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on some of the key analytical issues emerging from these discussions to consider the efficacy, operational context and ethical considerations of surveillance strategies at Olympic-sized events. Surveillance technologies themselves have become more active over recent years, adopting second-generation approaches designed to organize, filter or elevate noteworthy signals from the white noise of oversupplied surveillance data. Despite these headline-catching technologies, however, the principal emphasis was on developing CCTV networks. Such technologies have perhaps been deployed in greatest intensity in London's eastern Olympic territories. London authorities will be using advanced surveillance technologies to track suspects across the city. Similar to the Athenian Olympic security programme, there is substantial investment towards upgrading communications technologies in time for the 2012 Games. Whilst much of the opposition to these technologies has centred around privacy issues, another pressing debate concerns operational limitations. As such, the operations of newly inaugurated technologies are hostage to unpredictable human contingencies.
