To get to the Academy Awards, even as a reporter, you must park at a shuttered cinema, take a bus to Hollywood Boulevard, travel along streets lined with concrete slabs and manned by traffic controllers, and then, finally, pass through bag checks, two metal detectors and a dog with a well-honed nose.
Security is always paramount at the Oscars, and repeat attendees will tell you the checkpoints are nothing new. But this year, as the United States wages a war with Iran, there is extra attention on the security measures put in place for the Academy Awards.
“It’s the same because it’s been effective,” said Detective Jerry Arrieta of the Los Angeles Police Department.
“There’s eyes everywhere,” he added, as he and other officers patrolled the perimeter on Sunday afternoon.
A security alert from the F.B.I. about possible retaliation from Iran raised alarm in California last week, but top state and local officials made clear there were no specific imminent threats. The team running the Oscars ceremony at the Dolby Theater emphasized the importance of safety without disclosing specific precautions.
“Every year we monitor what’s going on in the world,” the showrunner Raj Kapoor told reporters last week. He added, “This show has to run like clockwork” and “We want everybody to feel safe and protected and welcome.”
The Police Department said in a statement that security planning for this year’s Oscars had been “extensive” and included “layered security perimeters, traffic management plans and a highly visible police presence throughout the Hollywood area.”
Livia Albeck-Ripka is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering breaking news, California and other subjects.
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