The heavy police deployment on the scheduled day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral is set to be the biggest security operation in the history of the United Kingdom.
The funeral and procession to follow will see crowds turning up thousands besides, members of the British royal family and other world leaders from around the world, which means the safety of these many people needs to be ensured without any compromise.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said, “nothing can compare” to the “hugely complex” task, describing it as the “largest policing operation” in the Met’s history.
As per the officials, the precise number of security personnel set to be deployed on duty will surpass the operation for the platinum Jubilee weekend and the 2012 London Olympics, which saw a huge security deployment of 10,000 people every single day.
It is also the largest global protection operation dealt with by the force, with world leaders, dignitaries, and other VIPs attending the state funeral.
It comes at a time when the country’s terrorism threat level stands at “substantial”, meaning an attack is “likely”. Among the key prospects following in the case to follow during the procession sees a probable knife attack, bombs being detonated, and terror threats or incidents.
Members deployed in the security lookout have been directed to report any unusual behavior which might be potentially threatening to the on-ground situation. The risk of a threat is “fairly high” particularly when the Charles III comes into contact with crowds, as per a royal security expert.
Security operations become “very difficult” when the monarch comes this close to crowds of hundreds of thousands of unknown, said Richard Aitch, director of operations for Mobius International.
Detailing to a news agency on how will they carry out the operation and look after the security of people and other dignitaries, he said “As they’re walking along the route, they’ll be looking at hands and eyes. They’ll be looking at the demeanour of the crowd.”
Britain's biggest-ever funeral
He further went on to explain that “Among the crowd, you will see a load of smiling faces and that is where things get difficult for you to detect the intention of the people”
As of Friday last week a total of 30 arrests have been made as a part of the operations for a wide range of offenses in the preparedness presumably the biggest even in the UK.
Officers from different pockets of the country are providing all sorts of possible assistance to the police department in London to ensure the best possible security setup comes into force before people from around the world gather to mourn and observe the funeral of Queen
Among the team involved in the deployment includes, Armed police, motorbike escort riders, officers carrying out patrols on horseback, dog teams, and the marine unit.
Provisions as another person in the security team Mr. Aldworth says, “Rooftop snipers would be in place while the cortege is moving, which will be accompanied by a helicopter escort.
Barriers of over 22 miles have been put in place in Central London to control the crowds and keep the key areas under tough security.
Apart from all these heavy provisions have also been placed to keep a vigil on people through drones and there will be all forms of check-ups to the tune of airport standards to let people enter in the key areas where events are scheduled.