Super Bowl – Unprecedented Security Measures

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Like everything else in the year since the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, Super Bowl LV on February 8 in Tampa, Fla., has been adapted to Covid-19 health guidelines and scaled down. While in some years, attendance has topped 100,000, this year, the National Football League will host fewer than 25,000 fans, according to nyt.com. 

Domestic terrorism remains a concern for law enforcement agencies protecting the public at the event, according to a DHS official. 

More than 70 local, state, private and public law enforcement agencies will be working to ensure the security of the game along with some 500 DHS personnel, officials said.

Security event planning for the Super Bowl, which is designated a Special Event Assessment Rating 1, began more than a year ago but the attack on the Capitol has caused law enforcement to put “greater emphasis” into investigating and intelligence gathering concerning such threats.

The game is also a target for transnational terrorists and inspired so-called lone-wolf actors.

“The Internet has made it possible for terrorists across the globe to radicalize and train people in the United States,” said David Pekoske, the acting deputy secretary of the DHS. The event is also attractive to other criminals, such as human traffickers and counterfeit goods sellers. “So we never take our eye off the ball,” he said, according to new agencies.

Scott McAllister of the DHS said there will be flight restrictions in the area in the lead up to the game up to 30-nautical miles enforced by Blackhawk and other aircraft.

In response to a reporter’s question concerning sightings of a low-flying helicopter in the area, McAllister said the aircraft was taking a footprint of the normal radiological level of Tampa in order for officials to pick up any such irregularities during the game. “It’s an effort in order to look for any kind of threat that would be posed by a radiological effort,” he said.