2006 Winter Olympics
by: Alan Baxter, Staff Writer
           Italian police tightened security at Turin's Olympic venues Monday and said preparations were going smoothly. Though some residents                      complained that they were not receiving the same protection given to the Winter Games sites.
         With the opening ceremony set for Feb. 10, hundreds of police,                         paramilitary Carabinieri, soldiers and volunteers already were guarding                      entrances to the Olympic village, the Oval speed skating venue, the main media center and the nearby Lingotto complex, a former factory of                       automaker Fiat turned into a cultural and commercial hub.
          The media center and the adjoining mall were also filled with                       uniformed officers. Workers who tried to bypass security checks were sent to join the line. For some residents, however, the display of force around the Olympic district meant less security for the general population."
           Where I live they didn't even come to plow the snow, let's not even talk about the police," said Gloria Mulatero, a bank worker standing with                            hundreds of people in line Monday for free tickets to rock concerts planned in the historic Piazza Castello after the medal ceremonies.
            Officials at the office of the Turin prefect, the top security authority for the city, said security had been boosted around the city as well as the Olympic venues. Schoolteacher Maria Cristina Fuser, who came to shop with her family at the Lingotto mall, said that when she arrived she saw so many police she thought, "something had happened."
             Italy has assigned more than 9,000 officers to the Olympics. The                                    Interior Ministry said last week that some 5,500 were in place. Police at                     Turin venues said security was running smoothly, though some problems persisted.
            Officers complained that they had not received a promised winter uniform and had to stand guard in the cold with only a light jacket. Olympic organizers faced other last-minute challenges, with snow causing an unused                           security tent outside the Lingotto complex to collapse into a busy road                              Saturday. Workers raced to repave some areas and finish venues, contributing to the ever flowing traffic.