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 Mike Brooks: Security planned a year ahead for Super Bowl
Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news around the world. CNN correspondent Mike Brooks filed this report Friday from the site of Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVII, where law enforcement agencies have spent countless hours on security precautions. SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- With my background in law enforcement and in special events and counterterrorism planning, I kind of know exactly what kind of questions to ask. I retired in 1999 from Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Force, having spent six years on the FBI's joint terrorism task force and preparing for special events. It kind of gives me a little insight into how things are put together, and I know exactly what's going on behind the scenes. Some of it I can report; some of it I can't. It's a lot of fun looking at it from the other side of the camera. I think people watch a story about the Super Bowl and its security preparations for a sense of what's going on. And if they are coming to the game, it enables them to understand why there might be more of a security hassle. It also is educational, so if they do come to the game they know exactly what they can bring into the stadium and what they can't bring into the stadium, and how they're expected to act. The San Diego Police Department, in conjunction with the 19 other state, local and federal law enforcement agencies, has been very good in educating the public about what to do at the stadium and at some of the other venue sites. I think stories like this are beneficial to the public and need to get out in a timely fashion before the event happens so people can prepare properly. At a high-profile event such as a Super Bowl, two main things are of concern to law enforcement officials when they're doing their planning: terrorism and crowd control. With terrorism, I think they've been planning for more than a year. They've planned for crowd control, too. You figure there will be close to 70,000 people at the stadium, but in downtown San Diego, they'll be looking at crowds of about 160,000 overnight, especially in the Gaslamp district, the focal point of a lot of social activities surrounding the Super Bowl. Talking with law enforcement officials who were at last year's Super Bowl, the security between last year in New Orleans, Louisiana, and this year in San Diego is pretty much the same. I think since September 11, 2001, the local, state and federal law enforcement preparation for the Super Bowl and other major special events has been pretty much the same. This year they have increased some things, such as the number of officers at the stadium, compared to last year. But most of the other entities -- the FBI, SWAT teams -- are about the same, and authorities are hoping for the best.
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