under construction Home About Registration Accommodations Contact Congress Partners Awards Delegates Pilot Communities Education Credits Community Partners

 

Super Bowl security

| 02.02.2006 | 06:18:461335 |
February 2 '06: This Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL and security will be high-tech and tight, according to the Detroit Free Press. "Law enforcement officials gearing up for Sunday's game are using the latest in cutting-edge technology to conduct background checks, X-ray the innards of delivery trucks and packages, monitor underwater in the Detroit River and scan vehicles' underbellies for suspicious objects," the Free Press reported about the advanced security measures being coordinated by Wayne County officials.
Many of the security operations like the 3-D imaging are being provided by a Birmingham, Michigan security and technologies company, Intrepid Defense & Security Systems. Using a 3-D imaging program called LifeVision3D, security officials will scan Ford Field, and the surrounding areas. The software needed to run the cameras plugs into existing cameras, and it will be used "to look for suspicious packages and activities," the Free Press reported.

Other security measures being used: bomb-detecting robots which will be used to inspect the undersides of vehicles; BlackBerries which will be used to run instant background checks "complete with mugshots from any prior arrests,"; and Gamma ray inspectors - mobile x-ray devices that will be able to look inside trucks and cars.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported more than 100,000 visitors are expected for the game. According to Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, "This was a Homeland Security Level 1 event from the beginning, and our plan far exceeds even what that level calls for."

"Lead by the Detroit Police," the Union-Tribune reported, "more than 100 law enforcement agencies - from county and sate officers and those from surrounding communities to the FBI, Homeland Security, the Coast Guard and even the Mounties from nearby Canada - will be on duty from now through Super Bowl Sunday."

And upon entering the stadium, 65,000 fans will pass through metal detectors and receive pat-down searches. The effect, Bully-Cummings told the Union-Tribune, will be that they "will have eyes everywhere."