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(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) Forget the megaphone.

http://1010wins.com/topstories/winstopstories_story_232122552.html

Police will have a much more high-tech option to make themselves heard
over the din of Manhattan traffic, summer tourists and noisy protesters
outside the upcoming Republican National Convention: the Long Range
Acoustic Device.

The New York Police Department plans to use the portable, dish-shaped
instrument developed for the military if it needs to broadcast warnings or
instructions to a swelling crowd. It's part of an arsenal of devices and
counterterrorism equipment that authorities were unveiling Thursday ahead
of the convention Aug. 30-Sept. 2.

The machines are being tested at an air field in a remote section of
Brooklyn along with other devices like hand-held radiation detectors and
mechanical barriers strong enough to stop a moving vehicle in its tracks.

The department recently bought two of the 45-pound acoustic machines for
$35,000 apiece, and plans to mount them on armored vehicles posted outside
Madison Square Garden. It would mark the first time the instrument _ which
can beam sounds up to 150 decibels for distances up to 300 yards _ has
been used by a civilian force.

``We believe we'd be able to use them in a number of scenarios,'' said
Paul Browne, the NYPD's chief spokesman.

Two possible uses cited by Browne: directing crowds to safety following a
terrorist attack or other calamity, and reminding protesters where they're
allowed to march and rally. At past demonstrations, protesters have
complained they couldn't hear police directions, resulting in confusion
and angry clashes.

Earlier this year, manufacturer American Technology Corp. of San Diego,
Calif., won a $1.1 million contract from the U.S. Marine Corps, which used
the gadgets in Iraq.

The military bills them as a ``non-lethal weapon'' designed to disperse
hostile crowds or ward off potential foreign combatants by delivering
prerecorded warnings in several languages and, if needed, a blast of
earsplitting feedback. But police insist the latter feature won't be used
at the convention.

``We're only interested in communicating messages,'' Browne said.

Bill Dobbs of United for Peace and Justice, which has planned a massive
anti-war demonstration on the eve of the convention, called the sound
system ``a potential Big Brother nightmare.''

Police ``are trying to use technology and machinery to control every
aspect of life on the street, rather than relax a little and let a part of
democratic society unfold,'' he said.

Mobile metal barriers _ a variation of those installed outside government
buildings, courthouses and embassies _ will form a series of checkpoints
around the arena. Once a truck or car is secured between two barriers, it
will be screened for bombs or other contraband by cameras that provide
real-time video images of their undercarriages.

The department also will deploy a new fleet of motor scooters to cut
through gridlock should trouble arise. Hand-held radiation detection
devices will help officers patrolling the streets and subways to guard
against a ``dirty'' bomb.

While protecting federal buildings from violent protests and other threats
during the convention, the Department of Homeland Security will arm its
officers with non-lethal guns that can target individuals with plastic
pellets filled with paint or tear gas. Some also will carry miniature
video monitors that can receive feeds from an elaborate system of security
cameras.

At sea, the U.S. Coast Guard plans to test a new underwater 3-D sonar
system to scan pier walls and ship bottoms in New York Harbor for mines
and other explosives. The apparatus can pick out objects as small as a
foot long in murky waters, then beam images to an onshore computer for
analysis.