Senior police representatives arrive from across the region for Cricket World Cup planning meetings

Stakeholders from across the region arrive in today to participate in a series of meetings and workshops related to the planning and execution of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

The schedule of top level meetings commences today with a two day Security Directorate Seminar hosted by John Collymore, Security Director for the ICC event. Senior representatives from the police force of all nine of the participating countries across the region are partaking in critical discussions on the role and function of security in the execution of an international mega event.

The agenda for the two day period features a general overview of CWC 2007 from a regional perspective and focuses on the impact of security on such an event. The group of Caribbean senior officers will discuss the Master Security Plan for the event as well as addressing critical issues related to successfully creating a secure environment for participants and patrons. Key matters on the agenda include emergency evacuation, stadium access, crowd control and anti-social behaviour.

Discussions amongst the group which also includes representatives from the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit are set to address operational planning and the logistics of implementation of a Master Operations Plan in all of the participating countries. The cooperation of all security agencies will be required and to this end each Host Venue has set up a Local Security Committee which includes representation by a senior member of the country's police force.

John Collymore, Security Director of ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc. the organization responsible for the management of the delivery of all contractual aspects of the tournament welcomed the group this morning and provided them with an overview of the tournament to the region. He later commented on the significance of hosting regular meetings such as this one.

"The event requires input and support of all of the relevant stakeholders across the region if we are to deliver the best Cricket World Cup ever. Security is a fundamental cornerstone in the success of any event of this magnitude. Regular consultation, dialogue and ongoing implementation of all our plans will be vital. It is testament to each of the senior representatives that have travelled to attend this meeting, that we all place a strong emphasis on the importance of the role security must and will play in our goal to host a safe and secure world class event."

A number of other meetings are set to take place in Kingston this week including Venue Development updates attended by the Local Organising Committee CEO's and stadium architects who will present the latest plans, schedules and renderings of the Stadia across the Caribbean that are being developed for CWC 2007. They will meet with Don Lockerbie, ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. Venue Development Director and Chief Operating Officer and representatives from the Venue Assessment Team (VAT) over the next four days.