Operation Team Player

Inside the Massive Security Operation Behind Super Bowl 55 in Tampa

Ensuring public safety tops HSI’s mission at Super Bowl LV

TAMPA, Fla. – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will join federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to provide essential public safety efforts in and around the Tampa Bay area for Super Bowl LV. HSI personnel will be on the front lines of the interagency effort to mitigate the threat posed by criminal organizations seeking to exploit and profit from criminal activity through the identification and seizure of counterfeit goods and enhanced efforts to combat human trafficking.

“I am proud of the efforts of HSI Tampa, the National Intellectual Property Rights Center and our public and private sector partners, who are working hard to make sure this is a safe event for everyone, despite the global pandemic,” said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Patrick J. Lechleitner. “Large-scale events like the Super Bowl provide opportunities for transnational criminal organizations to commit and profit from illicit activity. As in years past, effective teamwork will be the key to success on and off the field. For HSI, the size and scope of the task will again be met with personnel who are prepared to successfully execute the agency’s game plan and safeguard the city from national security and public safety threats during Super Bowl LV.”

Through Operation Team Player, the IPR Center, HSI, and its partners crack down on the illegal importation of counterfeit sports apparel and merchandise. Throughout the year, warehouses, stores, flea markets, online marketplaces and street vendors selling counterfeit and game-related sportswear and tickets are identified throughout the country. The IPR Center leads coordinated efforts to target contraband that negatively impacts the economy, restricts the competitiveness of U.S. products in the global market, and poses health and safety hazards to the public.

As a global leader in the investigation of criminal organizations that commit and facilitate human trafficking, HSI also works with its public and private sector counterparts to identify and target human traffickers. Leading up to and during the Super Bowl, HSI operations identify and rescue potential trafficking victims and work to prevent illicit activity from ever happening. ice.gov

Fact Sheet:
Homeland Security Investigations at Super Bowl LV

Photos from Previous Years


 

Super Bowl security officers prep for triple threat
of pandemic, politics and hometown crowds

At the stadium and behind the scenes, security officials in Tampa are bracing for a daunting range of potential threats to the Super Bowl this year, from COVID-19 and domestic terror attacks to unruly crowds cheering on their home team.

The National Football League championship, which requires security coordination from some 70 local, state and federal agencies, will be played under unprecedented threat conditions with a national domestic terrorism advisory in place following the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6 and the COVID-19 pandemic raging. It will also be the first Super Bowl matchup featuring a team - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - on its home turf.

Officials have been planning the event’s security for a year, according to FBI Special-Agent-in-Charge Michael McPherson, but recent political and public health crises and the cancellation of Super Bowl week events have caused the massive operation to adapt to a shifting threat picture.

Super Bowl LV is classified as a SEAR-1 event by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), meaning it receives the highest level of federal resources, including explosive detection canine teams, cyber risk assessments and air security.

The FBI Tampa field office, led by McPherson, will be hosting more than a dozen agencies at an intelligence operation center where agents will collect, analyze and disseminate intelligence related to the Super Bowl and communicate with other units around the country.

Fresh on their minds is an advisory issued by the DHS last week, which warned of the persistent threat of domestic terror attacks in the U.S. by “violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition.”

Hundreds of law enforcement officials, on horseback, in golf carts, and with canine units, will be posted on the grounds of the Raymond James stadium and the Tampa Riverwalk, where the game and other lead-up events will take place this week, said Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan. Those officers and their partners behind the scenes will be prepared for potentially violent political demonstrations in the wake of the DHS’ warning. reuters.com

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LP Bodycams Across the Pond
UK: Tesco, Boots, Matalan and JD Sports give staff bodycams to protect themselves as angry Covid mask rows with shoppers continue to rise
Tesco, Matalan and JD Sports have given their employees bodycams amid a surge in the number of violent disputes over the wearing of face masks in Britain's shops.

Abuse towards shop workers has doubled since the coronavirus crisis took hold last year, with retail union USDAW saying 42% of violent incidents relate to rows over face coverings.

British tech firm Reveal, which supplies the body-worn cameras, today confirmed a 30% surge in sales throughout 2020, attributed to an increase in demand from UK stores. It has seen an 80% jump in retail customers since the pandemic began, with High Street stores Matalan and JD Sports among those which use the devices.

Boots is also currently trialling use of the cameras, which are said to deter aggression by 'de-escalating the seriousness of the incident'. Tesco is in the process of rolling out the body-worn cameras across the UK, with devices expected to be in 1,400 stores by the end of February. Other British stores which have adopted the use of bodycams include Co-op, which has invested a total of 70 million pounds in security measures for staff across the UK. Sainsbury's also introduced the neck-worn security cameras - typically worn by police officers - last year in a bid to prevent their staff being attacked at work. newsbreak.com

UK: Co-op reinforces zero tolerance campaign after gang threaten
to attack shop workers in Birmingham
Central England Co-op has reaffirmed its campaign calling for better protection for colleagues after colleagues were subjected to shocking threats of violence in Birmingham. The retailer is reinforcing its message that violence and aggression towards staff will ‘not be tolerated’ following an incident which saw a gang of girls, after being asked to leave the Great Barr food store last night, returning with a group of males threatening to attack colleagues with knives.

This comes after the retailer asked people to ‘be kind’ as part of a new campaign encouraging customers to treat shop colleagues with respect and to repeat the Co-op’s long-term message to would-be criminals that ‘it is not worth the risk’ to target them.

New research has shown that, in the last 12 months, incidents of verbal abuse jumped by 167%, anti-social behaviour by 39%, assaults by 35% and threats by 16% compared to 2019. The retailer also revealed that 312 crimes related directly to Covid-19 have been recorded in stores since the start of the pandemic.

Recently, to help combat this problem, the retailer rolled out a range of different measures including security assistance buttons and using tracking devices in more products to deter would-be thieves. retailtimes.co.uk

Tiburon, CA: Store owners file $2M suit against police for alleged racial profiling
Two Black business owners in Tiburon have filed claims against two police departments for alleged racial profiling. According to the Bay Area News Group, the owners of "Yema" clothing filed lawsuits last week against the Tiburon and Belvedere police departments seeking $2 million for alleged emotional distress and potential loss of revenue, as well as punitive damages.

Yema Khalif and his wife Hawi Awash, both Black, said the claims stem from an incident that occurred in August. The pair had been working late at the store when a Tiburon police officer entered and asked them to identify themselves. One of the owners refused, saying he did not have to prove he had the right to be in his own store. ktvu.com

Walmart donates $14 million as part of broader pledge to advance racial equity
In the wake of the George Floyd protests, Walmart pledged to boost diversity within its own ranks and contribute $100 million over five years to help fight systemic racism across the country. On Monday, the company gave an update on that effort. Walmart and its foundation will distribute the first $14.3 million to 16 nonprofit organizations. The grants will go toward groups that are tackling racial inequities in various ways, such as educating communities of color about the Covid-19 vaccines, reducing debt for students at historically Black colleges and universities and providing internet access and technology to children who are attending school remotely. cnbc.com

U.S. Economy Expected to Reach Pre-Pandemic Peak by Mid-2021
The U.S. economy is expected to expand more rapidly in 2021 than officials projected in July, but it will take several years for output to reach its full potential and for the number of employed workers to return to its pre-pandemic peak, according to new economic projections released by the Congressional Budget Office. Gross domestic product is expected to grow 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with a year earlier and to expand 2.4% in 2022. Growth will average 2.6% a year through 2025, the CBO said. wsj.com

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