Outsourcing Winter Olympic security increases costs to RCMP

The cost to hire private security guards for the 2010 Winter Olympics, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, is more than double what the RCMP estimated for an all-Mountie staff at the airport-style venue checkpoints. Calgary Sun’s Bob Mackin writes that on Thursday, the RCMP Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit announced a deal worth a maximum $97.419 million with the Vancouver office of Salt Lake City-headquartered event security giant Contemporary International. Contemporary partnered with Aeroguard Group of Toronto and United Protection Services of Edmonton to create Contemporary Security Canada and plans to hire 5,000 Games-time workers.

A 25 April 2007 RCMP document released via Access to Information included two cost estimates for pedestrian and vehicle screening areas at Games’ venues. The RCMP members-only option was $46.16 million. A second option pegged private screeners at $24.7 million plus $9.2 million for RCMP supervision. Under both scenarios, equipment was estimated at $45.61 million.

Contemporary’s Web site says it offers security, planning, and event management services. It had contracts for various functions at the last six Olympic Games dating back to Atlanta 1996. The Web site for VANOC said Contemporary was awarded a security integration contract on 19 March, but the value was not disclosed. Contemporary executives were not available for immediate comment.

Aeroguard is the privately owned chief security screening contractor for the Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority at Canadian airports. United is a TSX Venture Exchange-listed company which includes an aboriginal-operated and staffed division called United First Nations Corp.

The RCMP also announced a $30.5 million deal with Honeywell Canada to equip venue fences with electronic sensors and video cameras. That deal was actually signed more than a month earlier on 13 March. The total coverage area is 40 kilometers.

Mackin reports that the Canadian federal government released the Games’ $900 million security budget on 19 February. It is five-times greater than the original $175 million budget. V2010 ISU chief Bud Mercer said on 20 February that his agency’s share was $491.9 million, which included $306.3 million for operations, $177.5 million for personnel, and $8.1 million for capital expenditures. Mercer said 7,000 RCMP and municipal police officers and 4,000 private security guards would be under his command during the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

V2010 ISU is in negotiations with Seattle’s Holland America Cruise Lines to provide accommodation for 5,000 cops and troops on cruise ships. An industry source said that deal could be worth $70 million. The original $55 million contract with Cruise Connections Charter Management of North Carolina was canceled last November. The company is suing the RCMP for breach of contract.