Atlanta ramps up police presence as fans descend on Super Bowl week

ATLANTA — Super Bowl week has officially kicked off in Atlanta, and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on the city in the coming days.

Hundreds of police are now on hand to help keep those visitors safe by foot, car, even horseback.

Channel 2's Michael Seiden was in downtown Atlanta, where there was a huge police presence Saturday. Atlanta Police say they are ready for anything. APD has teamed up with more than 40 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The city has also installed a network of thousands of cameras. The cameras provide a live feed to a command center where officials are looking for any type of suspicious behavior.

Seiden got a rare look inside Atlanta Police Department's Joint Operation Center, where more than 40 officers are monitoring the cameras at all times and staying in close contact with officers on patrol.

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Incident commanders are located at 13 different places in the city, Det. Chief Scott Kreher said.

"We meet with them every morning at 9 a.m. and we have a big briefing to talk about what they have for the next 24 hours and what they saw the previous 24 hours to make sure they have everything they need to make sure they are successful," Kreher said.

Technology is also playing a huge role in Super Bowl security.

Kreher told Seiden there are obviously some security measures that are confidential. He said the department has been working on this security plan for two years.

Cox Media Group