COPS' TIME OFF FOR NEW YEAR'S WILL BE Y2KO'D

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http://www.nypost.com/041299/news/8464.htm

COPS' TIME OFF FOR NEW YEAR'S WILL BE Y2KO'D By LARRY CELONA Plenty of Y2Kops have a Y2Kase of the blues over an order from police brass barring officers from taking time off on New Year's Eve 1999 - when huge crowds of millennial revelers are expected at Times Square.

That means the biggest holiday crowd ever will be served and protected by record numbers of cops - with more than 5,000 officers expected to be detailed to the Crossroads of the World for the big bash welcoming in the year 2000.

But cops say it's not just the big crowd that has them preparing to put the maximum number of officers on the street.

Sources say the brass is concerned about potential Y2K computer glitches that could cause any number of hard-to-anticipate problems.

In addition, cops expect people to withdraw larger-than-normal amounts of cash from bank accounts at the end of the year - out of widespread fears that computers might crash, ATM machines might go down and money could be scarce in a millennial emergency.

That means plenty of people could fall victim to muggers and burglars looking to take advantage of the generalized surge in liquidity.

Planners at the NYPD also want to be ready in case of possible terrorist attacks - with the eyes of the world on the famous Times Square celebration.

Cops cautioned that they have no indications that any attack is being planned - but they need to be ready anyway.

With all of that, and a Y2Kornucopia of fun planned, the planners at One Police Plaza sent out a computer message in February to all precincts detailing the time-off ban.

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 13, 1999

Answers

Many on this forum knew months ago that the banking industry's answer to threats of fund withdrawal would be the "inherent danger" from muggers, etc. Notice, Arlin, how easily that message is inserted in a "news" story. Don't tell me there isn't a concerted, coordinated effort among many entities to tell the same story.

-- Vic (Roadrunner@compliant.com), April 13, 1999.

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