NYPD To Take Pope Security Battle Underground
Every Train To Be Checked During Pontiff's 3-Day Visit; Radiation Sensors To Be Employed On City Streets

Sean Hennessey / CBS | April 16, 2008

NEW YORK (CBS) — As one might imagine, security is extremely tight in both Washington D.C. and New York City. With Pope Benedict XVI's much-anticipated landing Tuesday at Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base, the NYPD has already begun beefing up its police presence underground.

"Mind if we check the train?" That's the question NYPD officers will be asking hundreds of train conductors when the pope arrives in NYC on Friday morning.

Over the course of the pontiff's three-day visit, the NYPD will have round-the-clock coverage of high-profile MTA stops starting as soon as the pope arrives in the city. Officers will take a peek inside every train that comes through the station.

"It's probably necessary," one passenger said. "The pope is a big worldly figure so he needs that kind of security."

With hundreds of thousands of people expected to flock to the pope's motorcade route through Manhattan on Friday and pack Yankee Stadium for his mass on Sunday, police expect the subway to be extremely busy. The NYPD's presence, cops say, is all about letting the public know they are around. Police are hoping commuters will stay vigilante.

"We need the security. I don't mind the delays, as long as we have the security," passenger Pamela Wright said.

The delays, if any, will be minimal. Officers expect to be in the trains for just a few seconds at a time.

"There are delays even without him here so I don't think it's going to be anything noticeable," said passenger Jeff Payne.

Besides watching closely what's happening below the city streets, the NYPD will be watching closely what's happening on the streets. Police will be using hand-held sensors to check for radiation and chemical presence under trucks and vehicles, and random spot checks will be executed at many busy city intersections.

Needless to say, the NYPD counterterrorism unit is ramping up. The mobile radiation detection unit has 360-degree capability, and will be located all over the city, watching cars as they go past "choke points."

"It's extremely sensitive, not sensitive to the point where we are going to inconvenience people, but we will know when something is there," Counterterrorism Unit Inspector Brendan Sheerin said of the radiation detector. "Every day we will move this. Twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon to different locations."

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