News & Record (Greensboro, NC) October 13, 2003
Furniture-Market Security Tricky, But Police 'Have It Down'
Visitors Will See Many Of The Same High-Security Measures As In Recent Markets, With A Few Minor Additions
By Eric Collins
Police Chief Jim Fealy brought a wealth of experience handling crowds as large as 250,000 when High Point hired him last year.
It would seem the perfect resume for a man now responsible for protecting 80,000 or so extra people in High Point twice a year for the International Home Furnishings Market.
But Fealy said he's instituted few changes to the way his department provides security during the market, which begins Thursday.
"They have it down to a pretty good science," he said.
Fealy said that in Austin, Texas, where he was an assistant chief, his experience was with controlling large drunken crowds packed into small areas, whether partying before Y2K or at a Mardi Gras festival. It's a far different crowd at market.
"What makes it harder is that the event is scattered," he said. Showroom space is spread into 185 buildings in High Point and Thomasville, with tens of thousands of briefcase-toting participants constantly moving from venue to venue.
Fealy said that makes it logistically impossible for police to set up metal detectors at all entrances to prevent weapons or explosives from being smuggled in.
Access is controlled, however, through a pass system. Marketgoers must register with the International Home Furnishings Center to receive the passes, a step that requires, for example, buyers to provide a business license and a listing of suppliers as references, among other information.
Judy Mendenhall, president of the High Point International Home Furnishings Market Authority, said organizers believe the pass system is sufficient and the presence of security screeners "would be overkill."
The seven-day event attracts about 10,000 international visitors from more than 110 countries. Though police recognize the possibility for a terrorist attack during market, Fealy said he believes it is less likely than other targets because the event is not well-known to those outside the industry.
"It's a business event that doesn't attract a lot of attention except in the business world," he said.
Security managers across the country struggle with how much security is enough in a post-Sept. 11 environment, said John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a nonprofit defense policy group in Washington.
"It's just very difficult to figure out how much attention to devote to this," he said. "You can't worry about everything. You cannot publicly disclose everything you are doing. The challenge they have had is striking a balance between demonstrating to the public that they have the situation in hand versus providing the terrorists with a road map of the easiest place to attack."
Since Sept. 11, police have kept in contact with an alphabet soup of federal agencies during market, Fealy said, from the CIA and the FBI to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Fealy said an FBI agent is assigned as a liaison for the duration of the market, providing intelligence briefings when necessary. Police also have paid closer attention to the skies and rails.
Concerned about the possibility of an airborne attack, Fealy said he tried to get a temporary flight restriction over the city during market but was rebuffed by federal authorities.
"That air traffic is pretty well monitored (anyway)," he said.
Norfolk Southern officials also keep police abreast of everything moving on the railroad throughout market.
It takes about 2,800 work hours and costs city taxpayers about $55,000 to provide security for the event, said Lt. Clif Kelley, the department's special projects coordinator.
Other area agencies, such as the Greensboro Police Department's bomb squad, are relied on for backup. Many of the buildings also hire off-duty law enforcement officers or firefighters as security.
High Point police institute a laundry list of security measures.
To prevent truck and car bombs, officials block off parking in parts of downtown and don't allow unattended delivery trucks. No large trucks are allowed in downtown from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mendenhall said.
Those in the department's 22-member Tactical Team trade off time on showroom rooftops. On the ground, there are more than 20 officers working at any given time. This year, the city is paying McLaurin Parking Co. $28,000 to handle traffic control, freeing up officers to focus on preventing crime. New this year, some officers are assigned individual downtown blocks to patrol on foot.
"We really want people to see us," said Lt. Keith Washington, a police spokesman. "We want them to know we're watching. We want them to know we're watching closely."
© Copyright 2003, News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
