Sydney cops receive 12 threat calls per day

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Sydney: Police guarding the Sydney Olympics have received an average of 12 threats a day to disrupt the Games, ranging from bomb scares to attempted extortion.

But New South Wales police chief Peter Ryan said many of the threats had turned out to be hoaxes and bomb search teams had not found a single explosive device.

He said several people had been traced and questioned over the incidents but no one so far had been charged.

In one case, an anonymous caller told police there was a bomb in the main Stadium Australia and demanded money. The call was traced within five minutes and the caller was detained.

"The silly bugger was still in the phone box," Commander Paul McKinnon, head of the Olympic security command centre, told a news conference. He said the man had psychiatric problems and was not charged.

Ryan said a massive security operation had been helped by huge public enthusiasm for the Olympics, with crime rates down in Sydney since the Games opened on September 15 and only a handful of people removed from competition venues for misbehaviour.

"People have been enormously well behaved," Ryan said.

He said Sydney's security blanket, provided by police and troops, had been a vital "insurance policy".

"You can't stint on security. It does not come cheap," Ryan said. "You might not need it, but when you do, thank God you've got it."



(c) Reuters Limited.