LVCVA hire will combat terrorism

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority wants locals and tourists to feel safe along the resort corridor, and the agency could spend as much as $480,000 in the next three years meeting that goal.

The authority's board approved the funding on Tuesday during its monthly meeting. The money will finance the hiring of an intelligence analyst who will work for the Metropolitan Police Department in its Southern Nevada Counter-Terror Center. The analyst will read narrative documents and scrub suspicious-activities reports to look for information on possible crimes and to seek out connections that could indicate terrorists are planning coordinated attacks.

Ray Suppe, security director for the authority, said he believes it's the first position of its kind at any convention and visitors' agency in the nation.

Michael Hart, editor-in-chief of Tradeshow Week magazine, said he hasn't heard of any other visitors' agencies adding such analysts. Security was top-of-mind after the terrorism of Sept. 11, 2001, Hart said, but concerns about such attacks have receded in the eight years since.

"I can't imagine anyone picking a trade show destination or making a decision about going to a trade show because they're afraid of personal danger," Hart said. "If this works for them (the authority) and it helps them draw people, that's good. But I can't imagine there's a serious competition between New York and Las Vegas over which city is safer."

Hart also said he didn't think Las Vegas was any more or less safe than any other destination in the country.

Impetus for the position didn't come from any specific threats, or from concerns that Las Vegas faces higher risks from terrorism or crime, Suppe said. The authority conceived of the job two years ago in an effort to head off crime and terror before they happen. Initially, rotating members of the Security Chiefs Association were to fill the job. But once the police department opened its counterterror center and began working through the center with other public agencies, the authority decided the best route was to hire an experienced analyst whom Metro would supervise every day.

"It was obvious to us that tourism needed a seat at the table," Suppe said. "Tourism is the No. 1 industry in Southern Nevada, and we wanted to be a part of keeping the tourists and citizens of Las Vegas safe and secure."

Greg McCurdy, deputy chief of Metro's Homeland Security Division, said the department is conducting its final interviews to fill the job, and it will perform background checks on the finalists. Sheriff Doug Gillespie will appoint the analyst once the search is complete.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.