Human trafficking, cyber attacks and theft are among security concerns ahead of the F1 race

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – In less than a month, the lights will go out in Las Vegas as preparations for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix continue.

This includes security planning, which law enforcement agencies, casinos, hotels and other consulting firms have been working on for almost a year.

According to race officials, the first race of last year brought in about 315,000 fans.

With crowds of that size coming to the city, Walter Kimble, a retired New Jersey police chief and former director of Emergency Management, says there tends to be an increase in the number of victims of crimes such as burglaries, pickpocketing and an increase in rape drugs . and human trafficking.

“Sheriff McMahill took that Very seriously last year. They had more than 200 victim contacts, 70 arrests, and they had seven youth rescued, Kimble said. in the hotels.”

He added that the most important thing people need to know is a universal sign for help.

That sign is when someone holds up an open hand, inserts their thumb, and closes their fingers to make a fist.

“If you see that, keep that person in sight and call 911,” Kimble said. “You don’t want to let them out of your sight because it could be the last chance they have to call for help.”

Cyber attacks are also a potential problem due to the number of incidents in the valley in the past year. That includes MGM, Caesar’s PalaceAnd Findlay automatic group.

Because of these concerns, companies like Darktrace offer digital defense services.

“We collect 1.5 terabytes of data per weekend and run 50 million simulations over the course of a weekend and I would split the importance of cybersecurity into a few different segments,” says McLaren CEO Zak Brown. told Wired last year. “We have the design IP of our race car and that’s highly confidential trade secrets that we travel around a lot. We deal with third parties and race all over the world. And then we have all the data that goes on a race track, where we literally make decisions in a split second.”

Kimble provides national risk management operations for motorsport events and advises on tourism safety and security. I asked him how he thought the first year went, in terms of safety operations during race week.

“I think Sheriff McMahill and his people and all of his allied law enforcement partners have done a great job on security over the last year. I think Governor Lombardo activating the National Guard was extremely cautious because this was the first year at a brand new, not just an event, but a kind of event,” Kimble said.” (This was) an international event in scale, which may also make it attractive as either a foreign or domestic terrorist target. We saw that this did not happen. We often know through intelligence that things are planned. But due to proactive police action, these plans were not implemented. There’s no doubt they’ll step it up again this year.”

Entering year two, Kimble says he sees room for improvement. An example of this is fans being removed after the first practice
session went too late. That was thanks to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz driving over a valve covercausing damage to his vehicle and the session being interrupted while the track was inspected and repaired.

Last year, race officials sent me a statement saying fans were removed due to safety concerns.

“We were concerned about our long-serving public safety officers who are being asked to work the next three nights,” the statement read in part. “We were concerned about our transportation workers who are responsible for getting our fans back to hotels. Federal law limited the amount of time they could legally and safely operate buses. Finally, our hospitality staff needed the ability to clean and restock our guest areas to ensure the fan experience is optimal for everyone in the coming days.”

According to Kimble, emergency measures must be taken for this year to prevent a similar situation.

“Safety is always the right thing to do. The question is whether staffing has been managed properly, because not everyone starts and ends their shift at a different time,” Kimble explains. “It shouldn’t be the case that you have to deny your fan base because there aren’t enough people to protect them. That’s not a good idea. I think there needs to be more proactive planning throughout the event in anticipation of something like I think they learned a lesson there and I’m hopeful they made it right with those fans.”

Communication was another sticking point last year and Kimble says that has improved.

“There was a major lack of communication last year on a number of different levels, from how employees can get to work and where they can park safely. But more importantly, how long it takes them to get to work. Maintaining a constant flow of information, which at the moment looks like things will be better this year, but it will be crucial to make it a better event for the people who work there and for the other tourists who being in town.”

Kimble says employers should consider the following policies to help employees have a better and safer race week experience.

Provide a buddy system
Checking overdue employees
Distribute information about accidents, detours and bad weather during the workday
Review emergency operations for their facility
Verify and test employee communication systems before the event

And when you go to the race, Kimble says you should always pay attention to your surroundings.
In addition to the race, city officials have planned the Neon City Festival to encourage more business downtown. I asked Kimble if he thought this would lead to safety issues or challenges.

“In addition to Metro, you also get the Fremont Street Experience officers. You get the Las Vegas City Marshals, and you get a contingent that is part of that downtown area command,” Kimble said. “I’m wondering if that’s the best fit for the times, not only from a police aspect, but also being able to move around the city and all the places. I think it’s a challenge, but it’s definitely a manageable challenge.”

I asked the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department what their security plans are for the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix.

I was told they will hold a press conference before the event to discuss safety measures.

The date for that press conference has not yet been set on Friday.

However, police remind the public that if you see something, say something about it.

You can report emergencies by calling 911 and report non-emergencies by calling 311. For terrorism-related threats/incidents, please contact a counterterrorism expert by calling 702-828-7777. That’s also possible create reports online at snctc.org.