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PoliceNewsThe Voice of PolicePolice well prepared for the 2011 Rugby World CupBy Deb Stringer, Communications Assistant• - Photos courtesy of Al Guthrie.Police will come prepared for all likely scenarios during the Rugby World Cup, thanks to the carefulplanning of Rugby World Cup Police Commander, Superintendent Grant O’Fee and his team.For the past two years, the team havebeen working hard to ensure the smoothrunning of the international event, andlook forward to their hard work comingto fruition when the first game kicks offin September.“We have been pretty happy with howit has all been going, and feel that allthe effort that has been put into theplanning process has prepared us wellfor any situation we may face,” MrO’Fee said.Planning aheadHe said a significant amount of planninghad involved working alongside the 13District Operational Managers, whoare in charge of overseeing securitymeasures at matches.“During these matches police will beactively engaging with the crowd withspecial focus given to onsite liquoroutlets,” Mr O’Fee said.“There will be a couple of times wherewe will have four games on the one dayand will have 700 to 800 staff working.“They will be supported by securitycompanies and other organisations wehave partnerships with.”Strong presenceDespite the strong police presence MrO’Fee said he did not want to discouragepeople from having fun.“We don’t want to turn into the funpolice, because we really do wantpeople to enjoy themselves and have agood time.“However, if someone’s behaviour turnsviolent or we are faced with a situationwhen someone is severely intoxicated to188August 2011the point where it is adversely affectingothers we will be forced to address thesituation,” he told Police News.• Rugby World Cup Police Commander,Superintendent Grant O’Fee.Worst case scenariosAnother area which has undergonesignificant research is planning forworst case scenarios, such as the threatof large scale disorder.“The Police National Intelligence Centrehas done a lot of work on this, andthankfully the overseas research hasshown that this is highly unlikely tohappen.”Nevertheless, Mr O’Fee said contingencyplanning for such an event as well asothers had all been part of the process.“We have been participating in table topexercises with all the other emergencyservices and have plans in place forevery possible scenario you can imagine– big or small.”Police have also confirmed contactingknown protesters to ask whether theyplan to stage any protest action duringthe event.“This is something we always dowhenever a large scale event is held inNew Zealand.“Contrary to popular belief, we have agood relationship with these parties andso far we don’t foresee encountering anyproblems in relation to this”, he toldPolice News.Police Liaison OfficersA new initiative instigated by the teamis attaching a Police Liaison Officer toevery international rugby team.Mr O’Fee believed Police LiaisonOfficers would be highly beneficial forall involved.“Basically, the main function of a PoliceLiaison Officer’s role is to gain theconfidence of the team’s management.“We want each team to feel safe in thearea they will be based in, so the officerwill provide useful information on thearea which is aimed at them getting thebest out of their stay. It will also keepthe communication lines between usand the teams open, so we can addressany problems that may occur as soon aspossible,” Mr O’Fee said.Mr O’Fee said most Police LiaisonOfficers also spoke the language of theteam they would be assigned to.“For instance, the officer in charge ofthe Italian rugby team, who will betravelling to Nelson, speaks Italian, sothis should ease communication andcultural barriers,” he told Police News.