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Last week we were honored to host two veteran law enforcement officials from Australia for a visit to observe how we plan security operations for large-venue events. We greeted Senior Sergeant Simon Pekaj of the Queensland Police Service and Senior Sergeant Alf Johnson of the New South Wales Police Force at Logan Airport, and spent three days with them discussing large-venue security plans.
Massachusetts State Police Lieutenant Colonel Mark Cyr, commander of our Division of Homeland Security and Preparedness, Major Daniel Tucker, the Division's Deputy Commander, and Detective Captain James Rudolph, Commanding Officer of the Division's Criminal Information and Intelligence Section, hosted the visitors and spent a great deal of time comparing and contrasting our respective agencies' preparation methodologies and operations in practice.
Both Senior Sergeants are employed in the counter-terrorism space with a focus on large crowd protection. The visit was part of their preparation for The Commonwealth Games, which are coming to Victoria in 2026, and the Summer Olympics, to be held in Brisbane in 2032. Senior Sergeants Pekaj and Johnson explored concepts and tools deployed during these large venue events, with a special focus on our BOSAR (Behavioral Observation and Suspicious Activity Recognition) program and its role in the overall event security package.
As part of their visit, Senior Sergeants Pekaj and Johnson received tours of our Watch Center, Homeland Security Operations Center, and Gillette Stadium and the surrounding area. In addition to the MSP Division of Homeland Security command staff, the Australian officers met with MSP Colonel John Mawn Jr. MSP's Troop H and Special Tactical Operations Team, as well as the Kraft Group's Team Operations security personnel, assisted in the visit and presentations.
The visit by Senior Sergeants Pekaj and Johnson was beneficial to the MSP, as we learned about similarities and differences in security practices, societal public safety concerns, and best practices in mitigating evolving threats. We hope they found as much benefit in it as we did.
Seen in the photo are (from left) MSP Detective Captain James Rudolph, MSP Lieutenant Colonel Mark Cyr, Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Simon Pekaj, New South Wales Police Senior Sergeant Alf Johnson, and MSP Major Daniel Tucker.