Steve:

As of a few days I has picked up on two reports that I thought were noteworthy from a Law Enforcement perspective and I followed up on them both:

At approximately 11:55PM on December 31, l999 an explosion occurred at the base of of a high tension line tower in Niles Illinois which caused relatively minor damage to the mooring structure of one of the four legs that support it. A source within the Niles Police Department advised me that the device, of an apparently crude nature, was set within a plastic bucket which was placed at the base of the tower. The shock wave from the blast temporarily interrupted power for a matter of seconds but that no sustained disruption had occurred. Damage to the support leg was minimal. No one was injured and no serious damage resulted from the apparent case of criminal mischief or public utilitiies sabbotage depending on your point of view. The FBI and ATF are assisting with the case in attempting to identify a suspect(s), the composition of the explosive device, etc.

Likewise on New Years Eve the Santa Rosa California Police Department checked out a complaint of two males igniting fireworks in the area of a downtown "First Night" celebration. A check of the vehicle the two males were riding in revealed an AK-47 assault rifle and several "clips" of ammunition. Both were taken into custody, seperated, and interviewed intensively by investigators. It was determined that the rifle was going to be taken to a remote location away from people and merely discharged at the stroke of midnight. There was indication or evidence whatsoever that even remotely suggested the two individuals intended to harm anyone. From plenty of previous experience virtually thousands of rounds of ammunition routinely are discharged skyward on New Years Eve at the stroke of midnight. Sad story, but very true! Most people (idiots) doing the shooting never conclude that "what goes up must eventually come down". This had tragic consequences several years ago when a Columbus Ohio college student was killed by a bullet that literally fell from the sky and struck the young woman in the top of her head, shot by someone over a mile away.

Jim Brown Hudson Police

-- Steve Davis (Columbia, MD) (Steve@davislogic.com), January 05, 2000

Answers

Police Departments that are prudently proactive are now trying to justify their Y2K actions along the lines of the ICC. It's too bad that Public Safety continuity issues are so downplayed when clearly we all benefit so enormously.

I'll add this from the Denver paper: http://www.trib.com/HOMENEWS/STATE/DenverOvertime.html

Denver overtime tab for New Year's surpasses half a million

DENVER (AP) - The city spent nearly a half a million dollars on overtime pay for security during the New Year's weekend, though hardly any problems were reported.

"I think it paid off because we didn't have any major problems," said Deputy Police Chief Heather Coogan. "Better to be safe than sorry."

In all, Denver will have spent nearly $600,000 in overtime dollars - almost $400,000 of it to police officers alone - over the holiday weekend.

The total overtime bill, which will not be tallied until March, comes on top of the $75 million Mayor Wellington Webb's administration spent to safeguard the city against potential Y2K computer glitches.

The New Year's weekend was particularly expensive because of the requirement to give all workers time-and-a-half holiday pay, Ms. Coogan said.

"If it wasn't a holiday, it probably would have knocked out two- thirds of the cost," she said.

Anticipating riots, traffic system failures, drunken drivers and other trouble, the police department was staffed at near maximum. Almost all of the department's 1,444 police officers were scheduled to work or be on call during the weekend.

Not counting police, about 150 city employees were put on the overtime payroll, and 370 others were on standby alert in case anything went seriously wrong, city officials said.

But given the relative quiet New Year's Eve, police and other officials "stepped down" the extra manpower early Saturday. That move saved taxpayers thousands of dollars.

-- Jennifer Bunker (Salt Lake City) (jen@bunkergroup.com), January 07, 2000.