Posts Tagged ‘controls’

Toronto is a pretty tame place; the kind of place where nothing ever happens. The population is calm, conservative; all are great believers in the sanctity of law and order. There are no radical groups of any size. Militancy of any kind is almost non-existent.

Thus on the surface, one might assume this would be an ideal place to hold the G20 Summit. Despite this, the security budget for the summit was projected at over $200 million (over 6 times the figure of the previous G20 Summit). The Canadian public perceived this sum as absurdly high, yet the politicians only gave the most perfunctory justification for the exorbitant bill. To add insult to injury, a couple of weeks prior to the event this sum inexplicably ballooned to nearly $1 billion.

Major parts of the city were cordoned off like a high security prison, all under the pretext of protecting the security of the participants in the conference. After all the hoopla and expense, what was achieved? No one who lives in or around Toronto escaped being inconvenienced, frustrated and irritated by the oppressive security measures. Meanwhile, the professional anarchists, having no chance of getting anywhere near the summit events, not wishing to appear completely ineffectual, had to content themselves with smashing windows along the route of the demonstration. Finally, the city’s business owners, normally the beneficiaries of such summits, lost money because the city was turned into a ghost town, as all who could, fled the city for the duration of the event.

All this demonstrates the inherent flaws in the assumption that security must be tight and in clear view to all to be effective. In making control overt, you give those who wish to subvert your efforts the blueprints to do it with. By making it blatant, the security measures morph into being symbols of oppression- intimidating those already inclined to be compliant, while provoking and providing public sympathy to the subversive elements in society. The vandalism, which would ordinarily have offended the average Canadian, became instead a kind of vicarious expression of their own frustration. The police, after spending an absolute fortune on security, came off appearing incompetent and ineffective. Finally, the taxpayers are saddled with a bill they did not support, for an event they never desired, all in aid of international initiatives no one really understands.

However, there is an example of a completely different approach to security. One in which nearly perfect security is achieved imperceptibly- the Antwerp Diamond Exchange, one of the most secure places on the planet. It has been in place for several centuries with no significant modifications to the way business is carried on. Millions of dollars worth of diamonds exchange hands completely out in the open, in view of any passer-by, with no visible security anywhere in sight. As implausible as this utopian, laissez-faire structure appears to be, this model has been in continuous existence for some 500 years.

To the uninformed bystander the public square which houses the diamond exchange appears to be nothing more than a typical square in the old town, immaculately restored, but no more so than any of its neighbouring squares. Meanwhile, embedded in the tableau, one can see couriers in traditional orthodox Jewish long black robes, are walking to and fro across the square. Only the speed of their gait, and the seriousness of their demeanour, convey any hint of their purpose- conveying millions of dollars of uncut diamonds in small pouches tucked in their pockets.

The security is provided by undercover police disguised as shopkeepers, shoppers, a pair of lovers sitting at a café, etc. When the messengers meet; pouches are exchanged, with each then proceeding on their way. No paper changes hands; no inspection of the merchandise takes place- it is all done on trust.

During the centuries that this market has been in this square, great technological advances have been made in our society. We passed from the agricultural, through the industrial, into the electronic, and information ages. Nonetheless, this low-tech marketplace remains unsurpassed in the world, in terms of its efficiency, security and simplicity. The Antwerp Diamond Market is the model of control without restrictions. It is formless form at its finest. The flow of transactions is smooth and completely fluid, without compromising security. By way of contrast, the recent violence at the G20 summit in Toronto graphically illustrates the perils of taking the more traditional approach to security. One is left wondering precisely what the powers that be will have learned form this debacle?