The 2009 Academy Awards were not only notable for British success, but also for the introduction of new types of security at the event.
Officials debuted the ‘LA Shield’, an aerial technology system
The LA Shield was due to provide images, geographic coordinates and inspection-related information
Security also included an instrument used to detect "human body-worn threats", helicopters and bomb-sniffing dogs
Security for the 2009 Academy Awards ceremony on 22 February in Los Angeles, USA, included new devices such as an aerial technology system enabling authorities to "inspect critical infrastructure" and an instrument used to detect "human body-worn threats."
"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", Los Angeles Police Department chief William Bratton said two days before the event which was held at the Kodak Theatre.
Officials debuted the ‘LA Shield’, an aerial technology system that enabled them to "inspect critical infrastructure" and detect what a metal detector cannot, according to assistant chief Mike Downing.
Downing described the LA Shield to local reporters as an enhanced version of "forward looking infrared" that is "able to detect suicide body bombs, grenades [and] plastic explosives."
The LA Shield was due to provide images, geographic coordinates and inspection-related information that would help authorities assess the security of infrastructure and allow for a real-time exchange of information with police resources on the ground, police said.
Security also included an instrument used to detect "human body-worn threats", helicopters and bomb-sniffing dogs, Downing said.
Meanwhile, a professional gatecrasher, who managed to lie his way into a number of heavily guarded venues over the years, was hired by the Kodak Theatre to brief guards, and close gaps in their security for the 2009 Oscars.
Scott Weiss, whose exploits were a part of a documentary called ‘The Crasher’, where he recorded himself slipping into the Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, SACs, and several other high profile events, frequently used faked ID cards, security passes, and "charm" to make his way in. But he attributed his success to being a lot more to do with image, than with anything else.
“If you dress the part and put on an air that you belong there, and that you don’t really have time to be stopped by anyone, people are generally very polite,” Weiss explained. “People in security don’t want to offend big shots. If you look like one, they won’t bother you. That’s the whole flaw in the system: the human touch.”
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