After 19 months of work, Denver is ready to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The convention, starting Aug. 25, has pushed the host city to step up security measures.

Installing security cameras and changing locks are just a couple of the steps being taken to protect businesses in the city. CCTV Corp. told Denver’s CBS affiliate that it has installed more than 400 cameras downtown in recent weeks. Large venues, including the Denver Athletic Club, the Sheraton Hotel and the Colorado Convention Center have beefed up security. And small venues are following the same path.

"From small restaurants to small coffee houses, they want to get the burglary system in, want to get camera system in right now, and a lot is 'we'd like to have it done before the DNC,'" says Lenny Guida of Master Security.

For the actual convention, the security focus has been on protestors. To prevent violent clashes between demonstrators and police, Denver received $50 million in federal money to pay for security. According to National Public Radio, some of that was used to construct a temporary jail to fingerprint protesters.

Capt. Frank Gale of the Denver Sheriff Department says the city's existing jail can process only about 30 arrestees an hour. The new facility will allow deputies to process three times as many.

Earlier this week Denver Police got an early practice run when a call about a suspicious package shut down a main street in downtown Denver.

Police said the suspicious package was a private courier delivery box that had been moved over the weekend without the proper notification to them. After a vigilant citizen called the police after noticing it, officials pointed out to a local news affiliate that when the DNC is in full swing, they will look to these citizens to help officers keep things safe.

Wardy Landrau
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