Inside Law Enforcement's Security Hub In Miami Gardens Ahead Of Super Bowl 54
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Security surrounding Super Bowl 54 in Miami is super tight. The vast security effort around the game is being overseen by multiple command posts supported by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
"This is very important because we have multiple agencies that represent Dade County right now," said Miami-Dade Police Detective Christopher Thomas.
CBS4's Amber Diaz toured the main security hub, or Joint Information Center (JIC), which is where law enforcement officials are watching everything.
Located inside the Miami Gardens Police Department, it brings together the leaders in law enforcement for most of Miami-Dade County.
From the JIC, they are monitoring locations around the city closely.
If something happens, the Joint Information Center speaks as one voice for the community and anything related to the Super Bowl.
"It is set up so that social media is in the center," said Det. Thomas. "So everything that goes through can go through them, they can get all the information gathering, so a call comes in, we take the information, we send it through to social media because we need to disseminate so we can make sure that it goes out to the community in a unified fashion."
Screens show sports stations, google maps of the stadium, the entrance to Turnpike, and Super fest.
"This is Miami Gardens' real-time crime center so just like our crime center they've got eyes everywhere in the city. That way if anything happens on the road, the information could come to them and they can relay to the officers that are out there so they are better prepared to go to the incidents," explained Thomas.
On game day, it is where they will be watching the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers, with eyes and ears on the ground and up above.
Customs and Border Protection agents from Air and Marine Operations are patrolling the skies using Black Hawk helicopters.
"We are committed to making sure that we know as much as we can about any threats that may come in and we're prepared to take whatever action is necessary for us to make sure that they're safe coming in. So we want them to come in good and we want them to leave good as well," said Thomas.
Law enforcement officials also have a mobile JIC.
The FBI says the agency is also contributing to Super Bowl security with crisis management expertise, intelligence collection and tactical teams.
More than 60,000 fans at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens will watch the face-off between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.