Postcard from London: Feeling secure at the Games

I have no idea who the woman in the middle of this picture is and she had to wonder why I was standing next to her husband taking it. It’s for the police officers on each side. They need to be working harder, especially the bloke on the right. Shifty-eyes guy. Not sure I trust him.

I will say there has been a large and consistent security presence at these Games, given the issues beforehand with so many security officers not showing up to work. An additional 2,000 soldiers were put on patrol across London, bringing the total to around 11,000 of those dressed in fatigues checking credentials and guarding venues.

It’s not Beijing of 2008, where armored tanks welcomed you to the Media Center daily, but it has been so far the "safe and secure" Games promised by Olympic officials. Of course, there was the issue of a policeman "losing" an internal set of keys to Wembley Stadium. I’m thinking shifty-eyes guy.

(Ed Graney is covering the Olympics in London for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney. More Olympics coverage can be found at lvrj.com/olympics.)