New York adds subtle layers to terror fight

NEW YORK -- Shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, machine-gun- toting police officers frequently guarded heavily-trafficked areas such as Grand Central Station and Times Square. Even last summer, the heavily armed patrols were a reminder that the war on terrorism was not over.

But this week, when state and city officials placed an officer on every subway in response to the recent bombings in London, sightings of police officers armed like assault troops around the nation's largest city were far less common because New York City's approach to fighting terrorism has moved from focusing only on the bold show of force.

Unlike the nation's capital, which still relies on high-visibility patrols, New York officials such as Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly say there are also subtle ways to fight terrorism.

In this city of 8 million people, officials acknowledge that the 37,000-member police force cannot be omnipresent. But they say the use of plainclothes officers, coupled with technical surveillance and intelligence gathering, may alert them to things they would otherwise miss.

So instead of the city being besieged by police SWAT teams, these days officers dressed like Wall Street business people or tourists secretly ride the buses and trains to watch for suspicious activities. In addition, more than 8,000 police officers carry radiation detectors the size of pagers, which enable them to discreetly hunt for so-called dirty bombs. The police also rely on surveillance cameras and helicopters equipped with infrared equipment that can spy activities on boats, bridges, or tunnels.

This less visible approach of protecting the city marks the police department's multifaceted way of fighting terrorism and has been evolving and increasing since the creation of a new counterterrorism unit in 2002, according to New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne. One thousand police officers are now assigned to work on the team, some in undercover roles. The city spends as much as $200 million annually to find ways to stop terrorism before it happens.

''You cannot be sure that the person sitting next to you on the train isn't an undercover detective. You can't be sure that, because you don't see anybody, that somebody is not watching you," Bloomberg said during a news conference this week.

Besides being less visible, Browne said, another approach is to be unpredictable. Because terrorists are known to spend years observing a potential target and the routines of police officers, Browne said, police regularly change their routines. For example, the heavily-armed team of police officers called ''the Hercules team," still shows up around the city but on an irregular basis.

But not everyone believes a large show of force or human and technical surveillance will thwart an attack.

''What New York is doing is useful," said Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism specialist. ''I think it's a more sophisticated approach -- using plainclothes officers. But whether you use plainclothes or someone in a military uniform, or whether you have someone in a blue uniform carrying an automatic weapon on their hip, it isn't going to necessarily deter terrorism," he said, adding that New York City's expensive equipment may be just as inefficient against terrorists.

''Again, all that is nice. They spend a lot of money keeping a lot of people employed and get a lot of federal help, but it doesn't mean a damn thing as far as anti-terrorism. . . . I am saying the only way to deter terrorist is through intelligence," Cannistraro said.

Browne agreed that gathering intelligence is key.

''You have to do everything, but the best strategy is intelligence gathering to learn about attacks that may be coming and intercept and stop them from happening," Browne said. ''That's ideally the best, and we spend a lot of time doing that because there are so many potential targets in New York to hit. We would never have the sufficient manpower to cover everything at all time."

This week, four officers in the counterterrorism unit flew to London to collect information that could alert New York City officials to a potential attack. In the past, detectives have been sent to London, Montreal, Lyon, Toronto, Singapore, Tel Aviv, and Jordan to collect similar information.

Last summer before the start of the Republican National Convention, police said they disrupted a plan to blow up the Herald Square subway station at 34th Street.

An informant told police about two suspects plotting to blow up the station. The informant went undercover while police placed the suspects under surveillance for a year.