City of London's "ring of steel"
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The ring of steel is the popular name for the security and surveillance cordon surrounding the City of London, installed to deter the IRA and other threats. Roads entering the city are narrowed and have small chicanes to force drivers to slow down and be recorded by CCTV cameras. These roads typically have a concrete median with a sentry box where police can stand guard and monitor traffic. Some roads have been closed to traffic entirely. Despite the term "ring of steel", the roadblocks and chicanes are actually created with concrete blocks, sometimes plastic coated, that are wedged together.
The measures were introduced following massive IRA bombs in the City in the early 1990s (see for example the Baltic Exchange bombing). At this time the sentry posts were guarded by armed police almost continuously. Following IRA ceasefires the police presence was curtailed. Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, and a reported increased terrorist threat to the United Kingdom, security has been stepped up again somewhat, with occasional spot checks on vehicles entering the cordon, although not to previous levels.
The boundary is also marked by statues of dragons that vary in size and colour, but all carry the City's coat of arms.
On August 10, 2005, the Ring of Steel was widened to include more businesses in the City. This was as a direct result of a police report that categorized a terrorist attack on the City as "inevitable". Since February 2003, the wider London congestion charging zone contains the ring of steel and also records all traffic on CCTV.
