Protecting the more than 250,000 people who will attend or participate in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is the single biggest challenge that Atlanta’s police face each year, according to police chief George N. Turner.
The good news for everyone involved is Atlanta’s police and its city, state and federal partners have a lot of experience.
“We feel strongly that we are prepared but still praying that nothing happens,” Turner said.
Unlike securing Super Bowls and conventions, which mostly are contained to buildings, the immensity of the Peachtree challenge is wrapped in the key element of the event: the 6.2-mile course that stretches from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park.
Add in the second most-important element: the 60,000 people who will compete and the more than 200,000 who may turn out along the streets to watch. Finally, there is the coordination required among the 35 agencies that are involved in making sure that everything goes so smoothly that few people will stop to think about the terrifying possibilities.
“Atlanta is no stranger to large sporting events,” Atlanta Track Club executive director Rich Kenah said. “There is a tremendous amount of knowledge that comes with putting on not only running events but traditional sports. We are very pleased with level of attention that city gives The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race.”
The planning for this year’s race started immediately after last year’s. In an annual practice, every agency involved reviewed last year’s event and made recommendations for this year’s.
They groups, which total more than 100 people, met again six months ago at the Georgia World Congress Center. They met several more times, including recently to discuss specific situations and go through “table-top exercises” to review the appropriate responses.
“The easiest is bringing all those folks in the room because we have relationships,” Turner said. “There are no egos competing against each other.”
Some of the changes made for last year’s race will be kept in place this year.
After the bombings during last year’s Boston Marathon, local officials decided to secure the manholes along the entire route. As they did last year, cameras will cover the entirety of this year’s route.
Combined with the police towers and helicopter, the video feeds will be sent to a downtown center at a secret location, and will be reviewed at the joint-operations center at police headquarters on Peachtree Street. The videos will be scrutinized by an algorithm that analyzes the movements within crowds to see if there are oddities, such as someone moving around looking for something.
“Some of the most advanced technology available will be deployed during the race,” Turner said.
There will be intelligence teams running the route, as well as officers from various agencies along the route
The checkpoints that must be passed through at the finish line will be kept in place again this year because Turner said they want the security, but also want to make sure that families can connect after the race.
Lastly, the police will take possession of the route July 3 so that it can review and secure everything.
Every police officer and recruit will work 12-hour shifts on the Fourth of July. Turner wouldn’t say how many police officers will be on hand, but he said the of $900,000 is one that Mayor Kasim Reed has consistently supported.
Turner will spend race day moving from place to place along the course, making sure things are running smoothly.
He will then focus on the rest of the day. The race is one of many events during the holiday that the police will secure. There also is a convention at the World Congress Center, as well as fireworks and festivals throughout the city.
“It will be one of the busiest days we’ll have this year,” Turner said.
But the Peachtree Road Race is the focus, and Turner is confident. It will be deemed a success if there are no public-safety issues that rise to the level of impact news.
“It’s the world’s largest 10K,” he said. “We’ve done it for the past three decades very well.”
