The team we are sending already started setting up its game time defensive strategy inside Met-Life Stadium in the Meadowlands.
"We were recently up there and we secured that stadium. Now they have it secured to the point where it's sterile, to where we return back on Super Bowl Sunday," Detective Joseph Rovnan said.
The Philadelphia Police Department's Counter-Terrorist Unit is a key part of the security plan for the Big Game. It is a plan that will include a total of 3,000 law-enforcement professionals.
But New Jersey State Police made sure to bring in Philadelphia's Anti-Terror Unit because it is one of only a handful across the country with the technology, equipment, and training needed to secure an event of the Super Bowl's magnitude.
It's all part of a full-throttle safety effort that includes radiological detection devices, metal detectors, and security cameras just to name a few.
Members of the unit gave Action News an exclusive tour of their training facility Tuesday, where they explained how the "security net" needed to cover the Meadowlands goes far beyond the stadium itself.
"There's a lot of construction going on up there, as well as it's right off some major thoroughfares near bridges and public trains, so there's a lot to take into consideration," Rovnan said.
"By providing multiple layers of security as folks approach the event, it increases our chances of detecting someone who's there to disrupt the event or to cause harm," Lt. Edward Baldini said.
These officers say this is a perfect example of how even though they work for the Philadelphia Police Department, their services are needed far beyond the city's borders.
Lt. Baldini says the demand for their expertise is part of the post-911 world.
"It's humbling, but it is unfortunately the new normal for American law enforcement," Baldini said.
