Chaser stunt: funny or frightening?

Updated September 07, 2007 15:18:00

So, the ABC's Chaser 'pranksters' have hit the headlines again.

They have managed to breach APEC security by using a bogus three car motorcade, complete with Canadian flags, to reportedly pass two checkpoints in Sydney's 'red zone'.

The Chaser's Chas Licciardello sat in the back of one of the cars dressed as Osama bin Laden. They almost reached the Intercontinental Hotel where the world's most protected man, US President George W. Bush is staying.

The New South Wales Police Minister hailed the incident as a success as the Chaser team had not managed to pass the 'multi-layered' security and the police are naturally furious that the ABC allowed the stunt to take place.

Eleven of the team are facing charges in relation to the incident and may get hit in the pocket if they are convicted of an offence.

The police, apparently fearing that the Chaser team would attempt a stunt like this, warned the production team to behave responsibly in the weeks prior to APEC.

Opinion divided

This episode will polarise opinions, some thinking 'good on them' and others considering that the Chaser team was at best reckless and at worst criminally irresponsible.

If the team did manage to pass two checkpoints without being stopped, just because they were driving limos with a flag on the front, then there are clearly security implications.

From a police point of view, a protected person in a vehicle is most vulnerable when the vehicle is stationary so they will have been keen to keep vehicles moving. However, APEC VIP movements are clearly well planned and scripted and this was obviously an unexpected motorcade.

NSW police and APEC security personnel will be investigating the incident to find out exactly what happened and why the mini-motorcade was able to pass the two checkpoints without being stopped. If the cars should have been stopped then the problem needs to be urgently addressed and, knowing the NSW police, it will be.

It must also be borne in mind that APEC is the biggest security operation ever mounted in Australia. With an undertaking as complex as APEC security, something somewhere is almost bound to go wrong.

Does the Chaser incident mean that VIPs are in danger? Certainly not; the Australian police are one of the most professional police forces in the world.

There are other implications though.

This story will have been flashed around the world. People in the APEC and other countries will see the footage of the cars passing the checkpoints and Licciardello dressed up as the world's most wanted man.

It's a huge story - the world's most protected man being stalked by someone dressed up as the world's most wanted! What will they think of the incident? A funny stunt or an embarrassing gaffe?

Safety risk

Whilst some may consider that the Chaser team has exposed possible weakness in security and therefore should be applauded, there is also the issue of their own safety that needs to be examined.

For the length of APEC, Sydney is home to some very important people.

Police are naturally going to be concerned about the safety of the delegates and their teams.

If a head of state were attacked in Sydney, or worse, assassinated, it would stain not only the Australian police and APEC security, but the country.

Unfortunately police all around the world make mistakes and shoot the wrong person - witness the innocent Brazilian who was shot after the London attacks in 2005.

The Chaser team must have known that they were in possible danger pulling a stunt like this and one would have thought that, for health and safety reasons, a risk assessment must have been written. That would make very interesting reading.

Despite all the serious stuff above, I'm afraid I laughed like a drain when I heard about the incident and I've no doubt that the next edition of the program is going to get a huge audience!

Nick O'Brien is Associate Professor of Counter Terrorism at Charles Sturt University.

Topics: apec-economic-leaders-meeting-2007, television, defence-and-national-security, abc, television-broadcasting, police, sydney-2000

First posted September 07, 2007 15:13:00