Preventing Mass Transit Terror Attacks
Oct 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Michael Fickes
Technologies studied in the pilot included conventional airport X-ray screening devices and metal detectors. The pilot also studied new explosive detection portals that identify explosive material by shooting a person with a jet of air and analyzing the particles dislodged by the blast of air.
Field tests of checkpoints designed with these technologies took place at subway stops in Maryland and at Union Station in Washington, D.C. “The technology performed very well in this setting,” says Stone, who was at TSA during the TRIP tests.
After the tests, Stone continues, TSA set up mobile teams that would respond whenever the agency received information indicating a threat to a mass transit system. “Of course, transit systems have too many access points to allow this kind of system to be used generally,” Stone says. “But it has been useful for special events. For example, we used pieces of the system during the 2004 Republican and Democratic nominating conventions.”
Both conventions took place in facilities served by urban mass transit and train stations.
Going to the Dogs
Ten transit systems across the United States will each receive three bomb-sniffing dogs under a TSA initiative announced at the end of September.
The program is TSA's first major security effort related specifically to mass transit. While the effort may seem small in light of the scope of the nation's mass transportation facilities, it is designed to supplement local and state canine programs. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), for example, currently employs a canine patrol with 10 dogs. The TSA program will provide WMATA with three more patrols.
Do not underestimate the value of canines in explosives detection. “Dogs are mobile, inexpensive, and the best explosive detection technology available today,” says Darrin Kayser, a TSA spokesperson. “Current technology can't come close to a dog's snout in detecting explosives.”
Prevention by People
In his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Ron urged the senators not to overlook the proven capabilities of human beings in preventing terrorist attacks. “In Israel, the presence of trained security personnel at entrances of public facilities has proven to be a very effective preventive measure against terrorist attacks, including suicide attacks,” he said. “Despite numerous attempts by suicide bombers to enter shopping malls in Israel, none has been successful. The terrorists were forced to carry out their attacks outside the mall. The targets affected have been relatively minor, and the damage sustained was smaller in terms of human life as well as property.”
Ron also recommends that security officers be trained in a preventive technique called behavior pattern recognition. “A person intending to commit an extreme act of violence, in most cases for the first time in his or her life — as well as to terminate his own life — is most likely not going to behave like the ordinary people around him going about their daily routines,” Ron says. “Behavior pattern recognition techniques implemented by trained security and non-security personnel have proven to be a valuable measure in the detection and prevention of terrorist attacks in public facilities.”
Related Articles
- Technology VS. Terror
- Terrorism and Transportation Conference Concludes In New York
- Mitigating Terrorist Threats
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.
Story Missing Your Link?
Is the above story missing a link? Is it missing a link to your company, or your website? If this is the case please e-mail us and we'll add the link as soon as possible. Thank you!
advertisement
