NEW YORK, July 4 (Xinhua) -- As the annual fireworks show to celebrate U.S. Independence Day will take place Thursday evening, New York Police Department (NYPD) has been on high alert to secure the safety of the event, which is expected to draw huge crowds of spectators.
The NYPD will use seven helicopters, 16 harbor unit boats and dozens of new mobile cameras and bomb-sniffing dogs for Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks 2013 show, local media reports said.
There will be cops with radiation detection pagers; police cars that can detect radiation; a counter terrorism 360-degree camera car to look for suspicious packages; and radiation detecting boats that will patrol around the city since many people are expected to watch the fireworks from the water; and of course, the bomb dogs will be out in force.
"It's a significant investment of resources on our part, but obviously, in the post-9/11 world, we think it's necessary," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
"We also have additional patrols in the boroughs because we've had in the past, but not recently, celebratory gunfire, which obviously we don't want," he said.
Spectators are also being warned: There will be no backpacks, no chairs, no coolers, no alcoholic beverages and no pets allowed in the viewing area, and traffic along the banks of the Hudson River will be challenging.
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