(NewsNation) — The more than 70,000 fans expected to descend on State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for Super Bowl LVII pose a massive challenge for law enforcement.
Even though there has been no specific credible threat detected, there are more than 40 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies tasked with keeping the peace.
Some of these officers you can see and others are hidden in plain sight. Together they are tasked with ensuring the safety of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.
“For an event of the magnitude of the Super Bowl, this is a massive undertaking,” said Scott Brown, a specialist in charge with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Led by Homeland security, a diverse set of teams is poised to protect the public.
There’s aviation security, cargo screening, the K-9 threat assessment and teams dedicated to seeking out weapons of mass destruction and even covert cybersecurity surveillance.
NewsNation joined U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Marine operators on a helicopter security ride-along.
All day long they will perform aerial surveillance, looking for suspicious activity on the ground. They will immediately flag bad actors to ground units, who storm in swiftly to neutralize the threat.
“Right here, everything is collected in one spot,” said Alexander Zamora, supervisory air enforcement agent. “So it’s easier to see any congestion or any activity that may be out of the norm, and we can focus on that.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said it takes a year and half to get a Super Bowl plan fully developed.
Full safety, however, can’t be assured without the full cooperation of the fans in attendance.
“If you see something, say something,” Mayorkas said. “We all have to be alert to a potential threat to make sure that it does not materialize.”