Security lockdown in Times Square for New Year’s Eve

NEW YORK - Nearly a million revelers are expected to cram into New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve to ring in the New Year.

What most of them don’t know is that an elaborate security drill has already been put in place to prevent any untoward incident.

CBS News quoted agency reports as saying that police and counter-terrorism officers have blanketed the area, working with the help of a security plan specifically tailored for the event.

The security drill has included the sealing of manhole covers, deployment of counter-snipers on secret rooftops; officers with beeper-sized radiation detectors; plainclothes officers stationed in pens with the crowds, along with a uniformed presence and undercover officers.

Bomb-sniffing dogs have also been out on patrol and checkpoints and perimeters have been set up.

Passing vehicles are being checked for safety, while Haz-mat teams are on standby.

People have gathered for a century in Times Square to ring in the New Year.

Since the 9/11 terror attack, there have been at least six foiled plots against the city, including the plot by Faisal Shahzad to bomb Times Square with a used car stuffed with a propane-and-gasoline bomb on May 1.

The New York Police Department meets months in advance to set rules and share plans with the area restaurants and hotels that host fancy parties, along with the Times Square Alliance.

After the clock strikes 12 on December 31 and the glittering, Swarovski crystal ball drops, the crowd disappears quickly.

The sanitation workers start to clean up, and the NYPD starts planning for next year. (ANI)