LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Being on guard against terrorist threats in Las Vegas is hard enough.
But then came the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7.
That sent threat warnings soaring higher, said Spencer Evans, Special Agent In Charge of the Las Vegas FBI field office.
"I would say the the biggest challenge we face right now is the fact that we are facing an elevated threat picture across all the different threat streams," said Evans in an interview in his Las Vegas office.
Deputy Chief Dori Koren, who is in charge of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Homeland Security Division, says one of the biggest barriers to fighting terrorism is complacency on behalf of the public.
"You know, we cannot let our guard down, especially at a time where Vegas is doing so well," he said. "We're having these truly massive events, attracting the world's audience, and truly becoming the greatest arena on earth, which is great. These are all fantastic things, but we don't want people to get complacent because the threats are real and we are dealing with them."
In fact, the city's successes are what makes it a target for terrorism, from casinos full of partying gamblers to big events, such as the Super Bowl or F1, to huge concerts and athletic events to critical infrastructure, including the Hoover Dam, Harry Reid International Airport, Nellis Air Force Base and the pipeline that supplies nearly all of Southern Nevada's fuel.
Add to that the fact that Las Vegas is an international city where it's easy to blend into big crowds, and the people charged with keeping Las Vegas safe have one of the toughest jobs in law enforcement.
That's why authorities say they need the public's help.
"There's no doubt that our ability to keep the public safe involves co-producing public safety," Koren said. "And what I mean by co-producing is it requires the public to have an active role in paying attention to what's happening in their surroundings and taking action."
That goes beyond just the "see something, say something" campaign too, according to Mike Howard, a former CIA officer who spent years as head of corporate security for Microsoft.
Howard encouraged residents to get to know the police commander of the area where they live, by attending regular open house events. He suggested attending a citizen's police academy to learn more about how officers go about doing their jobs as well as starting neighborhood watch programs and just generally being aware of current events in the community.
Most important, he said, is not being afraid to speak up if you see something unusual or suspicious.
"I think you err on the side of caution," Howard said. "If you see something that just doesn't feel right, report it in a casino to security or you see something that doesn't look right in your neighborhood, new people showing up, people coming in and out different hours, let the police know. It may be nothing. But it may be something."
And when the public calls, authorities say their tips are taken seriously.
"We want to make sure that the public knows when they call and report a tip on anything that seems out of the ordinary that it's run to ground and taken seriously," Evans said. "During the Super Bowl, in particular, I remember there was a threat stream or two that seemed somewhat fantastical like that's crazy. That would never happen and it got run to ground just like any other plausible threat would."
And now, those threats are shared among agencies, not just those in federal law enforcement, but also with local agencies. That was something that didn't happen as often before Sept. 11, when various pieces of intelligence were known to some agencies but not pieced together by all of them until after the attacks.
Here in Southern Nevada, that information sharing happens at the Southern Nevada Counterterrorism Center, a collaboration between Metro, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies with responsibility for public safety.
After the attacks, Howard said there were tremendous efforts to share information between agencies, even including the notoriously closed-off CIA, via fusion centers like the one here or Joint Terrorism Task Forces scattered around the country.
Those networks include things such as the Major City Chief's Association and its Intelligence Commanders group, which Koren chairs. That group allows police agencies across the country to share information and form relationships that can pay dividends down the line.
That's important given that terrorists — especially international, ideologically-driven ones — are committed to launching attacks. The World Trade Center was bombed unsuccessfully in 1993 before the Sept. 11 plot was launched.
"These groups are really good at adapting and being amorphous," Howard said. "They're not stupid. They can see what's happened post 9/11 in our country and they can see, yes. It's stronger. The target is hardened."
"They're patient," he added. "They're very patient."
That's why the police have to be ever vigilant, Koren said.
"Yes. We are facing an elevated threat from all of the reasons we mentioned, but people also need to have a lot of confidence in their local security apparatus from the FBI to [Metro Police] to our fusion center to our private security," he said. "We are second to none."
