Behind the scenes with the FBI on New Year's Eve

Thursday, January 1, 2015
How the FBI keeps Times Square safe on New Year's Eve
Tim Fleischer gives you a behind-the-scenes look.

TIMES SQUARE (WABC) -- Tens of thousands of New Year's Eve revelers were jammed into Times Square on Wednesday night, and despite extraordinary security measures by the NYPD, there is still the potential threat. Any time you get this many people in one spot in New York City it's a bit disconcerting.

The Joint Terrorist Task Force will take any and all information, and send it right out to the joint response team, who can put eyes on a problem and check out whether it is real or not.

Pete, Senior Special Agent and Bomb Technician walked with Tim Fleischer as he and his team walked through Times Square.

"We're also relying on other law enforcement," he says.

There are other FBI agents and undercover agents then working into the crowds in the pens. They are trying to get a feel for what is going on in that crowd and if there is something suspicious.

The agents try to blend in with the crowd, but also have to be a little bit more attentive to what might be suspicious across the fluid audience.

Also out of sight, but ready at a moment's notice is a highly trained FBI S.W.A.T team. They are here in case something more unique shows up that requires them.

For so many, New Year's Eve is a night of fun and job, but unseen are the many FBI agents working to ensure their safety. The goal is to prevent anything from happening.

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