Could ghosts and goblins hobble the start of the Olympic Torch Relay on the streets of Victoria? Police are asking that question and girding for trouble.

The cross-country torch relay, promoting the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, starts here on Halloween eve -- Friday, Oct. 30. That could cause security headaches for police trying to contend with protesters wearing costumes and masks.

"We can't just stop and search people because they're in costume, but you can see how a person dressed up in a black cape and hoodie, a mask and a bag can get close to the relay," said Sgt. Grant Hamilton, spokesman for Victoria police. He said Halloween is second only to Canada Day in resources required of police.

While protest organizer say they have no plans to intercept the torch, they caution that it's a possibility.

Tamara Herman, spokeswoman for No 2010 Victoria, which is organizing an anti-Olympic festival to coincide with the torch-relay launch, said their events "don't involve trying to go and grab the torch ... but there might be people who have different plans that go along those lines."

Const. Gary O'Brien, RCMP spokesman for the Nanaimo detachment, said plainclothes and uniformed officers will be dispersed throughout torch relay crowds. He said balancing the freedoms of protesters against the rights of the torchbearers to be free from harm is paramount.

"It is unlawful to wear a mask in the commission of an indictable offence, therefore that is grounds for an arrest," O'Brien said.

A single command centre will oversee relay security on the Island.

Police say they will have designated protest areas called "Freedom of Speech" zones close to the relay and they hope protesters will use them. Nevertheless, Hamilton said police recognize that protesters can move freely and there will no attempt to contain them in designated zones.

Herman said her group has no intention of using the zones. "To create free-speech zones is to imply there's other places where we don't have the freedom of speech," she said.

Hamilton said he hopes protesters allow the torchbearers to "complete their experience without being interrupted."

"Torchbearers have no political agenda," he said. "For them, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

jhatherly@tc.canwest.com