Ring+of+Steel

You’ve probably been to a place that has surveillance of any kind, such as a mall or a museum. Whether it was undercover guards, security cameras, or anything that could catch a crook red-handed, you’ve seen it before. Some schools even have video surveillance of come kind. If you haven’t, you’re probably a hermit that doesn’t get out much and quakes at the sight or feel of sunlight. Hopefully, that’s not the case. London, England has a surveillance system such as this. It is called the Ring of Steel, and its cordon of security that runs all around London and its important landmarks. Its name originated from a stage in The Troubles, which was a governing disagreement between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which tended to pull in the rest of the United Kingdom and get them involved, too. During this stage, Belfast was fortified from any outside attacks. This barrier was later known as the Ring of Steel. The Ring of Steel was originally created to keep out the provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and other threats. In 1966, The Provisional IRA attacked the greater part of London called the Docklands Bombing. Though England only suffered 2 casualties and 38 other injuries, there was £85 million worth of damage. This proved that the ring prevented attacks to London itself, but not to equally important in value surrounding areas, such as Dockland and Westminster. The ring was later expanded in the December of 2003, to protect those local areas of wealth. When you think of the Ring of Steel, you’re probably thinking of a giant Steel Ring that floats around the city, like the one from the Olympic opening ceremony of 2012, except with lazers and plasma canons shooting down Irish men and terrorists with a crushing blow! No? Well, then you need a brighter imagination. Point being, it’s not that amazing flying ring that would be awesome to pilot…or whatever lame thing you thought it was. It’s actually a chain of surveillance surround London and its neighboring cities. There will be certain Entrances and exits to the city where cameras can easily look at everything you’re doing. First, there are many chicanes near the exits, which are curved roads that are usually used in motor racing. Though it seems strange, the chicanes are also commonly used in roads, forcing drivers to slow down on all of the twists and turns. This allows the multiple surveillance cameras to get a good look at you, your car, and your license plate number. Even if that fails, there are many guard houses that surround these twists and turns as well. Some are even camouflaged to prevent travelers to spot them. This neat little precaution is called “fortress urbanism”. These new forms or protection were introduced by Police Commissioner, Owen Kelly, who feared more bombing attacks as much as the next guy. The irony behind the Ring is that it isn’t actually made of steel. The cameras may be, but the roads and medians are made of concrete, and sometimes coated with plastic. Not only that, but the traffic cones signaling the police sentry boxes were also made of plastic, eventually leading to the parody name “The Ring of Plastic”. Though the name was silly, it got word out of the ring, and showed citizens how much more seriously the authorities were taking the IRA and other threats. Eventually, all of the press led to an upgrade, consisting of more roadblocks, concrete barriers, and checkpoints. The Ring of Steel has been around for while now, and though it may sound like “everyone already knows about it, including offending countries,” and, “People could easily find a way to wiggle around it having all this knowledge!” I bet you didn’t know about it until you read this.