'Santa cops,' ban on traffic for New Year's security

Security comes first for New Year's revelers as Turkey prepares to bid farewell to a year marked with terror attacks. To alleviate safety concerns for outdoors celebrations, police announced extra security measures, including police officers dressed as Santa Claus and a traffic ban in crowded areas.

Though Santa Claus is not exactly a sound symbol of security due to his habit of breaking into houses through chimneys, policemen with fake beards will join their colleagues disguised as garbage collectors and street food vendors to provide security in Istanbul, which is focal point of nationwide New Year's events. They will be among 17,000 policemen who will be deployed across the city throughout the night against cases of armed attacks, terror attacks, robberies, sexual harassment and other crimes that are common in New Year's celebrations around the world. Some 5,000 policemen will be stationed in and around Taksim, a district known for its eponymous square and İstiklal Avenue, at the heart of the celebrations.

Zafer Baybaba, deputy chief of a police unit whose members are exclusively composed of plainclothes policemen disguised as street sellers, said they expanded security measures more this year for New Year's celebrations. Baybaba said security personnel would be deployed at ferry ports, ferries, airports, metros, metrobuses and trams as well, previously measures were limited to celebration venues in the past years. He said they also set up a mobile surveillance center in Taksim Square and through 40 mobile and 96 fixed cameras they will monitor the area for security breaches. Streets leading to the square and İstiklal Avenue will be closed to traffic on New Year's Eve, and 40 checkpoints will be set up throughout the district. Police also banned truck entry to the city's Sarıyer, Şişli, Beşiktaş, Beyoğlu, Fatih, Bakırköy and Kadıköy districts on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to prevent traffic snarls.

In Antalya, the popular Mediterranean resort, some 2,150 police officers will be deployed across the city during New Year's celebrations.

In capital Ankara, streets where major celebrations will be held are scheduled to be closed to traffic starting in the early hours of New Year's Eve. Officials announced Tunalı Hilmi, Aşkabat streets and Kızılay Square will be off limits to cars. Police will also set up checkpoints and will search the revelers.