New York cops prepared for ‘heightened threat’ on New Year’s Eve

The NYPD commissioner has promised a “tremendous amount of police resources” on Tuesday night

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has deployed drones, bomb squads, and hundreds of extra officers ahead of the city’s famous New Year’s Eve celebrations. The force’s commissioner said that officers are operating on high alert.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that while there are no credible threats to the New Year’s party at Times Square, the NYPD has been operating in a higher state of alert since October and will continue to do so through Tuesday night.

Tisch declared a “heightened threat environment” in early October, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, despite admitting that there were no concrete threats linked to the Palestinian militants or their sympathizers.

”We remain vigilant,” Tisch told reporters on Monday. “The public can expect to see a tremendous amount of police resources deployed throughout the area and across the city. That includes members of some of our elite specialized units.”

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In addition to 600 newly-qualified officers, the NYPD will deploy K-9 teams with bomb-sniffing dogs, helicopters, drones, and water units, the commissioner said. Precautions have also been taken to prevent ramming attacks using vehicles, like the fatal incident that occurred in early December at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.

”Every year we formulate our plan based on incidents that are happening around the world,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism said at Monday’s press conference. “Christmas markets…they’re a persistent, high-risk target, and so, frankly, are New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world.”

More than a million visitors are expected to pack Times Square and the surrounding blocks to watch the crystal ball drop at the stroke of midnight. Ahead of the crowds, NYPD officers have welded manhole covers shut and removed mailboxes, vending machines, and garbage cans, Tisch said.

Extra security measures were also put in place across Europe, with 3,000 extra police officers to be deployed in Berlin and 10,000 police and military personnel mobilized in Paris, according to authorities in each city.