NYC security remains high after 9/11

Security measures put in place by the NYPD for the 9/11 memorial service remained in force Monday through the evening rush hour, causing some inconvenience and delays with vehicle check points and continued bag searches in the subways.

An NYPD spokesman said that police brass would be assessing overall intelligence reports and the overall security situation to determine if the measures, which included extending the number of officers on patrol by a third, would continue beyond Tuesday.

"They are not going to pull everything down at once," said one police official who didn't want to be named. "The last thing to go would be the bridges and tunnels."

Beefed-up security in preparation for the 10th anniversary memorial service took on extra urgency last week when federal officials said they had specific and credible threat information about a possible terror plot targeting Washington, D.C., or New York City around the time of the 10th anniversary. No incidents occurred and officials acknowledged at the time that the original intelligence tip was uncorroborated.

In New York, the NYPD increased officers on duty in the counterterrorism, traffic and transit bureaus, and added vehicle checkpoints. Police also added to security at bridges and tunnels, as well as government buildings, transit hubs and houses of worship.

Since Friday, police said there has been a major spike in reports of suspicious packages and vehicles. As of 8 a.m. Monday, there were 393 calls about suspicious packages, compared with 112 in the same four-day period last year. Reports of suspicious vehicles, which may not necessarily be related to terrorism, jumped to 2,094, up from 1,705 in the similar period in 2010, according to an NYPD spokesman.

Last week, police Commissioner Ray Kelly said he fully expected a significant increase in calls about packages and cars, particularly after officials urged the public to follow the security adage, "If you see something, say something."