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Police to use new system for Oscars security

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-23 08:55

Police in Los Angeles will use new devices including an aerial technology system to ensure security for Sunday's 81st annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, officials said Friday.

According to William Bratton, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), police are using all of their resources to keep the Oscars ceremony "safe and uneventful."

"We will, as we always do, pull out all the stops to ensure we have a safe and uneventful -- other than for those who receive the awards -- event," Bratton told a press conference outside the Kodak Theater.

LAPD will debut the "L.A. Shield," an aerial technology system that enables authorities to "inspect critical infrastructure" and can detect what a metal detector cannot, said assistant chief Mike Downing.

Downing described the "L.A. Shield" as an enhanced version of "forward looking infrared" that will be "able to detect suicide body bombs, grenades, plastic explosives."

Police said the aerial technology system could provide images, geographic coordinates and inspection-related information that will help them assess the security of the infrastructure, and allow for a real-time exchange of information with police on the ground.

Security measures for the Kodak Theater will also include instruments used to detect "human body-worn threats," helicopters and bomb-sniffing dogs, Downing said.