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3 With thousands expected to flock to Ontario 5 for the Pan Am/Parapan Games 2015, prepar- “ing a localized security strategy for Halton 5 has been an experience like no other, said E Det. Sgt. Brad Cook, Halton’s security lead g planner for the Games. ”You think you've seen everything, done ev- fi erything, and then you get something like §thisf Cook told a crowd at the Milton Sports 5 entre during March's Pan Am information 0 session. g Cook, a member of the Halton Regional Po- : lice Service (HRPS) who served on the Child 5 Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit and with â€"Sexual Assault and Violence intervention Ser- § vices, said in scope, Pan Am security detail is scomparabie to high-profile criminal investi- : gations. g 'What’s different is the preparation and the § plannhgfhe told the crowd. E The Games will see more than 10,000 athletes :Pan Amseculity detail similar to high-profile criminal probe: police By Rachael Wllllams CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF and officials from 41 countries and territories participate in 51 sports. There are 31 Games competition venues, 13 non-competition Halton Regional Police Staff Sergeant Brad Cook speaks to guests at one of two information ses- sions held at the Milton Sports Centre in advance of the Pan Am Games. Mame/W “MG!" venues and 15 training sites spread across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, fromWelland to Oshawa and from Lake Ontario to Georl gian Bay. ”We want to provide a safe spot for everyone to 90. Everyone in the community will be im- pacted by the Pan Am Games. Our job is to make sure everyone is safe,” said Cook. The OPP has formed and leads an Integrated ‘ Security Unit (ISU) for the Games that will include several major security partners. The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) are one of 10 police forces that make up the ISU, including units from Durham, Hamilton, Ni- agara, Peel, South Simcoe, Toronto, York, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the On- tario Provincial Police. Sgt. Peter Leon, provincial media relations ‘ co-ordinator for the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), said in an interview with the Cham- pion that when it comes to planning for an event of this size and magnitude, the OPP has reached out to police organizations who have co-ordinated similar sized events, such as the Vancouver Olympics, including the RCMP. "And the police service of jurisdiction for each of the Games venues will be responsible for security planning in their jurisdiction and will maintain operational command and con- trol during all events,” said Leon. The HRPS will be responsible for providing safety and security around the Halton ven- ues, which includes the Murray National Cycling Centre in Milton and Burlington’s City View Park. a soccer practice venue. Assessing the threat level for the Games is based on the national threat level set by the RCMP. According to Leon, the shooting at Par- liament Hill on October 22 that resulted in