February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Collins said that since Sept. 11, 2001 police department security and surveillance tactics at all major public events in New York city had been improved and expanded.
Asked if last week’s Madrid bombings would lead to heightened security measures for the parade, Collins said that New York city was on continual Orange Alert level and that the police would be positioned all along the parade route watching for any suspicious individuals or activity.
“It has been the practice to inspect bags carried by parade watchers for alcohol,” Collins said. “The situation with regard to alcohol has become much better in the last couple of years but we will still be checking bags.”
The matter of security at the parade was a matter that the NYPD was acutely aware of, Collins said.
“We have to be particularly wary when there are such large numbers of people,” he said.
The parade starts at 11 a.m. at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street and will be led by grand marshal Tommy Gleason. The event will be broadcast live on WNBC television.
The parade, which is expected to last roughly five hours, will be preceded by an 8:30 a.m. Solemn Pontifical Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
This year’s parade is being dedicated to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces.