NNSL (Mar 25/98) - The criminals must have been engrossed in the sporting events.

There was a marked lack of criminal activity during the Arctic Winter Games and that came as good news to all, particularly Bill Sweeney, chair of the security committee.

"Basically, it was a fairly uneventful time from a public safety perspective," Sweeney said.

There were a few thefts. Notably, some members of the Russian contingent had their four bottles of vodka swiped. They also lost their camera to a thief -- the most valuable item to have been stolen -- but a philanthropic Yellowknifer, determined to observe the spirit of the Games, replaced it for them.

Naturally, misplaced pieces of property were reported stolen a number of times, only to have them turn up later.

Otherwise, the only enforcement that security had to do was to ensure that the athletes returned to their dorms by curfew.

"For the most part, everyone was reasonably well behaved and it went off without a hitch," Sweeney said.

"The kids are very serious about their athletes and were here to compete and have a good time, but not to cause trouble."

The security staff, numbering about 70 to 75 members daily -- attempted to maintain high visibility. RCMP officers were dressed in their red serge uniforms, the firefighters did building checks every four to six hours and bylaw staff provided backup.

"There were a lot of uniforms around over the course of the week and I think that assisted in maintaining some order," Sweeney added. "It was a big commitment from the people of Yellowknife to deal with the security side of things."

There were numerous ambulance runs for injured athletes, but only two fire alarms during the Games. One was a false alarm, the other was due to a kettle left on the stove that forced a brief evacuation of St. Patrick high school.

"All in all, it was quiet," deputy fire chief Mike Lowing said. "I think there was a massive presence and each building had security as well. Things never got a chance to build up or deteriorate to the point where there was an emergency to worry about."