Security preps already underway for Pope Francis' Philadelphia visit
The City of Philadelphia has hosted huge events on the Parkway - Welcome America, Made in America - but "The Pope in America" will dwarf them all.
Organizers are expecting at least one million people, and likely more, when Pope Francis presides over two events on a stage at the foot of the Art Museum.
A security challenge like none other, it will be a test to see how well we're prepared.
Edward Hanko is Special Agent In Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office. His agents will be working with multiple other federal, state and local agencies to keep the pope's visit safe and incident free.
The planning is underway, but the framework has been in place for years.
The agencies will all be on the same page, using FEMA'S National Incident Management System.
They will have a central command and field operations.
"You'll have commanders, boots on the ground up close, that have the communications to feed back to the main command post," said Hanko.
Agents are already monitoring potential threat streams on social media, the Internet, and through a wide network of informants.
The idea is to head them off at the pass.
If a threat does get through, they are hoping it will be detected by high tech monitoring systems, and a legion of undercover officers.
But the one thing the FBI and others fear most is the most difficult to stop - the lone wolf.
"A homegrown, violent extremist, if you will, who may be sitting in a basement and doesn't communicate with anybody, self-radicalized and then goes out and does something," Hanko explained.
Everyone involved in security will be working hard to keep the peace on the Parkway during the Pope's visit. But, a little help from the Prince of Peace wouldn't hurt.
