For years, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had lobbied federal officials to give New Year’s Eve the Department of Homeland Security’s top special event assessment rating, which would provide the city with federal officers and resources like intelligence and helicopter teams. A few weeks after the October shooting, the Police Department got word that they would receive the rating for the first time this year.
“We need to be able to focus on multiple shooters, on one or more above ground — we’ve got to multiply our forces,” said Chief Chris Jones, who is overseeing the department’s preparations. Chief Jones said he could not give specific details of precisely how officers would be deployed, but estimated that there would be more than 5,000 local and federal officers along the Strip. Nearly the entire length — roughly four miles — will be closed to traffic.
About 330,000 visitors are expected on the Strip for New Year’s Eve, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which puts on a fireworks show from seven rooftops and is billing the event as “America’s Party.” The number is down slightly from last year, though officials said it could still rise.
While there was a slight dip in tourism just after the shooting, Cathy Tull, the senior vice president of marketing, said that conversations with focus groups showed that the hesitancy to visit was not because of safety fears.
“They were trying to figure out what was appropriate, when they could come and have a good time,” she said. “We’re talking about people who drive, who can decide on Thursday to come on Friday and are very comfortable here. They were just waiting. Now they want their Vegas back.”
In the days after the shooting, the tourism authority pulled advertisements proclaiming “What happens here stays here,” replacing them with commercials that used Vegas Strong, a motto and hashtag that is now emblazoned on T-shirts and billboards all over the city. The “What happens here” spots will begin airing again next month.
The Las Vegas shooting has prompted the New York Police Department to reassess its New Year’s preparations as well, with the city, and Times Square in particular, long considered likely targets.
Each New Year’s Eve, the New York Police Department, and its counterparts in state and federal law enforcement, face anew the job of securing the highly symbolic spot where the ball drops to the clamor of up to a million spectators packed together.
The Vegas attack has prompted the department to re-examine their plans. “We’re saying, ‘Let’s revisit our high-vantage security during events like this,’” said Stephen P. Davis, the Police Department’s chief spokesman.
The department plans to use its rooftop observation teams and counter-snipers across a more vast area of real estate than in past years. Those teams are also more vigorously preparing for New Year’s Eve, scouring the hotels, office buildings and residential high-rises around Seventh Avenue and Broadway, from the West 40s through the West 50s, to familiarize themselves.
Like the officers in New York, the Las Vegas police have a dual focus: trying to prevent an attack and quickly stopping it if one does happen. Every officer in the department will work a shift between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, Chief Jones said. Inside Police Headquarters, officials will closely monitor the city using hundreds of security cameras placed in the heavily trafficked tourist areas.
“We’re watching everything,” Lt. Dori Koren said.
The department will also coordinate with casinos, all of which have their own security teams. Several resorts impose special rules on New Year’s Eve, such as allowing only hotel guests into the property as midnight nears. As MGM Resorts International faces several lawsuits claiming the Mandalay Bay is liable for the Oct. 1 shooting, many hotels have begun to reassess and revamp their own security plans and procedures.