Security might not reach last year’s level

Jace Radke And Jen Lawson

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004 | 9:26 a.m.

G-men with devices to detect chemical and biological agents, Blackhawk helicopters and Nevada Army National Guard soldiers will again be available to provide security for the crowds of more than 250,000 expected to ring in New Year's in Las Vegas.

Ellen Knowlton, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office of the FBI, said that the unheard of security precautions in place for last year are ready to be put in place, but only if they are needed.

"The difference is that last year we had a threat and this year we don't, which is a good thing," Knowlton said. "We expect that the resources will be available should we need them."

Because an outdoor gathering of so many people fits within the parameters of a target that al-Qaida might be interested in, the Las Vegas celebration has been given a "special event" designation by the federal government, Knowlton said.

That means that additional FBI agents from surrounding areas and the resources that were in place last year may be called upon again.

An additional 25 FBI agents augmented the usual 100 stationed in Las Vegas over the holiday last year, when Las Vegas was coming up in some of the "chatter" and intelligence reports.

Last year the terror alert level increased from an elevated, or yellow alert, to a high, or orange alert, from Dec. 21 to Jan. 9. Armed U.S. Customs agents in Blackhawk helicopters patrolled the skies over the Strip, while police mixed with 270,000 revelers on the ground last year.

Energy Department officials used sophisticated equipment to search for chemical and biological substances near the Strip, and National Guardsmen were stationed at McCarran International Airport.

Clark County Emergency Manager Jim O'Brien said he and other emergency services representatives have been meeting with the FBI and Metro Police in preparation for the celebration.

"I don't expect it to be quite as much as we saw last year," O'Brien said of the security.

Adjutant Gen. Giles Vanderhoof, the commander of the Nevada National Guard and state homeland security advisor, said he is taking no chances.

He estimated that he would have about 300 soldiers deployed at McCarran and other unspecified locations on New Year's Eve. Another 400 soldiers will be on call and ready to be deployed within an hour of being noticed, Vanderhoof said.

"I'm always going to be concerned about Southern Nevada because even though we don't look at it that way, some may portray it as sin city," Vanderhoof said. "It's the second biggest party in the country, and as long as I'm here, I'm going to treat it as a priority."

Vanderhoof said that while there is no information of a threat now, it doesn't mean that something won't crop up between now and the end of the month.

Metro and the FBI will cancel the majority of leave and vacation time for agents and officers over the holiday, as is their normal practice.

Sgt. Chris Jones, Metro Police spokesman, wouldn't say how many officers will be on the Strip and the Fremont Street Experience on New Year's Eve for security reasons. But he said as always, most of the department's 2,100 officers will be on duty in some capacity.

"It's a party every year, and we put all of our manpower out there," Jones said.

Local police agencies team up with Metro during New Year's to help handle calls for service, making up for the lost manpower of the Metro officers performing crowd control duties on the Strip. Metro's helicopters and the department's mounted unit are also called into service for the holiday.

The FBI will be running a command post New Year's Eve and into New Year's Day, and a second command post with local emergency responders will be operating at the County Government Center.

About 6 p.m. on Dec. 31, Metro will begin its preparation for the crowds by enforcing the no glass rule on the Strip, Lt. George Castro said. All drinks must be in plastic cups.

Around the same time, officers will be placing metal barricades along the curbs on Las Vegas Boulevard. The barricades, first used in 1998, allow police to gradually close the Strip to traffic by moving the barricades toward the center of the street from both sidewalks as the crowd grows.

The barricades, which are waist-high and about 10 feet long with vertical bars, will eventually be pushed toward the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard, where police will keep a lane for emergency vehicles and as a regrouping area for officers.

Paramedics will be stationed at various points along Las Vegas Boulevard, as will corrections officers with buses ready to take lawbreakers to jail.

Last year about 140 people were arrested on the Strip and downtown, mostly for public drunkenness and fighting. In 2002, police made 23 arrests.

Last year police also had to contend with a few stabbings and shootings -- including a killing -- before the New Year's celebrating was done, but most occurred away from the Strip and downtown.

The killing happened about 2 a.m. Jan. 1 in the parking lot of the SRO night club on East Flamingo Road near Spencer Street.