Life Is Beautiful just dropped its stunning lineup and tickets go on sale at the end of this week, but the festival has some people concerned. With the terror attack last year in Las Vegas, ticket buyers are concerned with safety. Thankfully, police are already working on beefing up security for the weekend.
There will be more officers on the ground, as well as officers working from “elevated positions” while monitoring the crowd. While this may seem like a rather scary mental image, it’s all for the protection of the attendees and to ensure they have a good time.
A spokesperson for the Ogden Hotel, where Stephen Paddock rented a room before he carried out his terrorist attack last October, told 13 Action News, “The Ogden is working closely with Life is Beautiful organizers, along with the LVMPD and festival security on all safety measures. ”
Speakers at the International Tourism Security Conference last week in Las Vegas addressed concerns, as well.
“This is a tough town if you’re a crook, this is a tough town to do something. If you are a terrorist this is a tough town to do something,” said terrorism expert Hal Kempfer. “If you are a terrorist, you might pick a different city, because this city is a hardened target.”
One of the main tools that experts are looking at to thwart threats are drones. Able to be controlled remotely, and possessing the ability to fly with a variety of attachments, they present an exceptional opportunity for officers to take control of a situation and handle it swifly.
On the other hand, they could also be tools used by those meaning to do harm.
“Drones have become ubiquitous, they are all over the place. Frankly, we are very concerned. We are not going to wait for an attack by drones before we have something to stop drones in place,” Kempfer said. “If you look out there, counter drone techniques are already being implemented all over the place. So if somebody does use a drone as a means of attack it may get thwarted before the first attack, so that is one of those areas where we are moving way ahead.”