Wearing their traditional uniforms the British policeman and policewoman are a novelty sticking out in the crowd, and, as they told MTI, they often feel like celebrities in Budapest.
In comparison to such large and prestigious festivals as Glastonbury, the Sziget is a lot cleaner and safer, they said. "It's a much bigger site, it's an island as opposed to farmland just turned into a festival site. It certainly seems really safe here," said Simon Tomlinson. "We've spoken to lots of the British festival-goers on the site and they are having a good time. They feel very safe enjoying the festival," Zoe Lea added.
Additional factors that contribute to good security on the island are that events take place on a large area and crowds are spread out at the different events. "That is different for instance from the Glastonbury festival where you have around 200,000 people the whole time for the whole week. No people coming and going as day visitors, the crowd is there the whole time," they added.
They commended the work of Hungarian colleagues noting that they had noticed a lot more undercover police officers working in plain clothes than it would be common at similar festivals in Britain.
"These undercover police officers seemed very successful because for example pick pocketing is a very hard offence to catch," Tomlinson said.
The bobbies' job at the festival is first of all to provide for the security of the thousands of Britons.
The bobbies' job at the festival is first of all to provide for the security of the thousands of Britons.
"As soon as a British person is arrested, we would have to assist them. Making sure they go through all the checks and are treated fairly," Tomlinson added.
However, they emphasised that an interpreter is always with them, so they are able to assist anyone in need of help.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
