‘Unprecedented’ Security Planned for Pasadena’s New Year’s Day

The 2016 New Year’s Day Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game will see an “unprecedented” level of security, including more than two thousand federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and two dozen agencies, according to a DHS spokesman.

“On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, federal personnel will be employing a variety of explosive-detection methods, as well as at key venues across the city from bomb-sniffing dogs to sophisticated devices that register even minute amounts of radiation,” said Mark Selby, deputy special agent in charge of the Department of Homeland Security in Los Angeles.

In addition, “there will be an air surveillance capability, unmatched in the city’s history,” he added. “a sophisticated network of cameras has been temporarily installed to monitor activities on the ground, Customs and Border Protection aircraft will provide protective surveillance from the sky.”

“It’s really important to realize,” said Selby, “that these preparations started more than a year ago.”

Agencies involved in protecting Pasadena on New Year’s Day include Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) , the US Secret Service, FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, DHS Infrastructure Protection, and the FBI, all working directly with the Pasadena Police Department, according to Selby.

“Should an emergency actually occur, multiple HSI tactical teams will be on standby to support Pasadena Police and Fire efforts,” said Selby.