To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. A NEW DAY FOR MASS TRANSIT other level of deterrence because, as most everyone knows, terrorists by their very nature like normalcy, they like consistency, they like to know this is going to happen when, and this is going to be here or there. They don’t want to walk into a train and suddenly be looking at potentially seven or eight uniformed officers as well as how many unknown FBI, or Secret Service, or ATF officers who are sitting there fully armed. “With those protocols and then a hired security service that we have that we send through trains every so often, we have certain levels and tiers of this sort of umbrella-ed protection. Yet it’s so inconsistent that you can’t bank on that train one [won’t have] three officers.” On top of all that, Roeber said, “We added another layer by doing the canine sweeps of trains while en route, not just at the yards. We show up unannounced at a station and the dogs walk through. So again, you’re adding another level of uncertainty. … On any given day you could run into four or five different layers of people who would make your operation difficult. … I just don’t think that anybody would take us on given the fact that they’re just never sure of who they’re going to run into at any given moment.” Roeber emphasized that “TSA and [the Department of Homeland Security] are critical in the grant portion, because they completely fund our canine program. And now they’ve really helped us fortify our outlying yards.” TSA’s Lennon, who was previously director of intelligence and emergency preparedness management for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, agreed: “We feel that the security program model that we have developed and are implementing with our security partners, with all its separate security measures, does, and will continue to have, an impact on deterring terrorists from selecting mass transit and passenger rail systems as a target in the US,” he said. “From a layered security approach to the implementation of random security measures, to the hardening of our critical infrastructure, to training transit front line employees, to random baggage inspections and public awareness efforts, we feel that we are making it more difficult for the terrorist to understand and predict our security position,” he explained. Continuing, Lennon stated: “A wide array of measures are in place to reduce risk. While TSA and its partners in mass transit are focused intently on preventing attacks, we count on several other agencies, particularly our partners in the intelligence and law enforcement communities, to identify and prevent those that wish to do us harm from ever entering a transit system. “It’s also important to understand TSA’s role in mass transit security,” he stressed, noting that, “unlike aviation, TSA supports our partners to implement multiple layers of security in mass transit and passenger rail systems. We ensure transit agencies have security plans and we assess them through a vulnerability assessment process. Through this process, we are aware of what security measures are being employed by individual transit systems and we work with these systems to continually improve security.” Security shortchanged But a lot more can be done, say security authorities and lawmakers. Since 9/11, despite deadly rail transit attacks in Madrid, London and, more recently, in Mumbai, aviation security has continued to receive the lion’s share of attention and funding. In June 2006, a House homeland security committee report, Detour Ahead: Critical Vulnerability in America’s Rail and Mass Transit Security Programs (http://hsc-democrats.house.gov/SiteDocuments/ 20060801153711-86476.pdf), noted that “after the [9/11] bombings SENSAPHONE REMOTE MONITORING SOLUTIONS ® P ROTECT Y OUR: EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTER VACCINE STORAGE DATA CENTER COMPUTER ROOM OTHER CRITICAL FACILITIES Notification Via: Monitor For: SENSAPHONE products provide remote monitoring of critical equipment and facilities. Abnormal conditions generate immediate alarm notification along with detailed data history. www.sensaphone.com 26 | 877-373-2700 Contract GS-07F-9463S April 2009 www.HSToday.us 2009 This month’s issue is now available online at… HSToday