Security measures beat Hollywood at its own game

LOS ANGELES - A system to detect sarin nerve gas, a state-of-the-art command centre, roadblocks to stop bomb-laden trucks hurtling towards their target - it all sounds like the stuff of Hollywood thrillers.

In fact, these are steps Los Angeles police and counterterrorism specialists have taken to prepare for today's Oscars ceremony.

"We are pulling out all the stops," said John Miller, Los Angeles police chief of counterterrorism

The show, watched by 43.5 million people in the United States last year, is "a symbol of American culture and has the potential to be a high-visibility target", he said.

Protecting the annual event has become a serious business since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

Police barriers are in place around Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, buildings looking over the red-carpet reception are being monitored, and helicopters will patrol the skies.

"The old Oscar plan, prior to September 11, had a lot to do with crowd control and traffic control," Miller said. "It did not account for the guy in a rented truck with 680kg of explosives hurtling at 110km/h ... "

The concerns do not stop at suicide bombers. Miller said equipment was in place to take air samples from outside the venue and inside, testing for chemical agents like sarin or biological agents.

While admitting such attacks sounded far-fetched, Miller said Los Angeles could be an attractive target to international terrorist groups because it had less sophisticated defences than, say, New York or Washington.

This year police are also testing a command-and-control system developed by the Department of Homeland Security that links cameras able to zoom in and pan out. All feed into a centre that will be monitored in Los Angeles and Washington.

Yesterday, the mood was relaxed as dozens of tourists milled around posing for photographs in front of a giant Oscar statuette.

- REUTERS