[BARC-List] good publicity

[Dan Malloy]

Security at an all-time high
Multiple agencies keep a close watch over Boston

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FRAMINGHAM - In a Cold War-era bunker outside Boston, 80 men and women
hunkered over radio consoles and gazed intently at electronic displays
yesterday, looking for any sign of trouble along the Boston Marathon
route.

It was the first time in the 106-year history of the race that state,
federal and local public safety agencies gathered under a single command

at
the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency bunker in this Boston
suburb,
a sign of the tightest security ever.

For the first time, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration were

posted at the bunker, which maintains a small staff 24 hours a day
year-round, during the race. The FBI conducted background checks of the
elite runners and monitored the race.

Along the route from Hopkinton to Boston, there were bomb-sniffing dogs,

hazardous materials teams and radiation detectors.

About 377 law enforcement officers, 195 military personnel and 88
firefighters ran the 26.2 mile course, watching for anything unusual.

There were no reports of trouble, said MEMA spokesman Peter Judge, save
a
few false alarms about suspicious packages.

Security entailed 1,500 police officers, 415 National Guard troops, more

than 200 amateur radio operators in the crowd plus volunteers with
phones
at
water stations. Last year there were about 250 National Guard troops and

fewer than 1000 law enforcement officers.

The Sept. 11 attacks left officials worried about 1 million spectators
standing shoulder-to-shoulder and 17,000 official entrants, and the
temptation a Patriots Day event with a worldwide audience might present
to
terrorists.