T he month of April was precarious to say the least. We as a country are still reeling from the bombing in Boston, the images of chaos and bags filled with runners’ unclaimed belongig at the finish line still fresh in our memories.
As of 6:00am Wednesday, May 1, a whopping 70 percent of people surveyed in a Washington Post-ABC News poll said they support the death penalty for 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. That discussion may be premature at this point, but a number like 70 percent reflects the collective fury and intolerance we have for this level of violence in the U.S.
Men and women in public safety: as if you don’t already have enough to deal with, add terrorist attacks your list of things to train for. But you already know that. The days of law enforcement as security outside the stadium or arena are long gone. Now SWAT teams are taking training to a new level, increasing the instensity and regularity with which they train to protect the ‘soft’ targets, inside.
Mark Lang, a Texas SWAT vet and Craft International instructor, talks about the role of police snipers in public venues. Lang encourages agencies to reach out to local venue managers and explain to them the value of live-fire training before something happens. “If those snipers are not allowed to fire in the venue they are beging deployed in, they are not being set up for success,” says Lang.
It’s not all about firearms and rapid response drills, either. Police in Boston are already thinking about how they can beef up security systems and utilize new technologies to ensure the 2014 marathons are safe (and better than ever). Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis watched Tsarnaev plant the wired satchel thanks to CCTV cameras. The footage helped lead to Tsarnaev’s timely arrest. (If you haven’t already, you’ll want to listen to Associate Editor Paul Peluso’s podcast with Andy Tech, president of FLIR, on how thermal imaging played a role in the manhunt, as well).
It will be interesting to learn how Boston’s operations evolve in light of the recent attack going forward.
The more streamlined our security operations in public places—sporting events, yes...but this includes schools, too—the more we give pause to potential masterminds (and puppets of masterminds) bent on harm. Boots-on-the-ground patrol have as much responsibility (and can make as much a difference) as the best analytic surveillance systems available to cities. Trained manpower and smart technology together is a powerful first line of defense.
In this case looking forward—preparing, thinking and thinking ahead—is a message in itself. ?
