The Nation is Watching

As the President of the National Association Citizens On Patrol, this past May 2007 I had the opportunity to attend the first ever invitation-only National Watch Group Summit held in Lexington, KY, hosted by the National Crime Prevention Council and the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The purpose of the summit was to convene leading watch groups from across the nation to help establish Best Practices for others to consider while sharing information and receiving topical information from noted scholars and practitioners. The attendees were welcomed by prominent speakers such as Domingo Herraiz, director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance; Alfonso Lenhardt, president and CEO of the National Crime Prevention Council; and Corey Gruber of the National Preparedness Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

JFK Explodes....almost.

One of the most interesting presentations at the watch group summit was delivered by Major John Hunt, the commanding officer of the Special Operations Section of the New Jersey State Police. The mission of this unit includes overseeing the homeland security functions for the state. Major Hunt described a number of different locations that could very likely be the next targets for terrorist attacks in the United States or abroad. What Major Hunt did not know at the time, nor did those of us in attendance, was how accurate his predictions were.

Within a week of returning home, the story broke on the plot to blow up JFK International Airport in New York by targeting the pipelines carrying fuel to the airport from New Jersey. A month later, we learned of the near-successful car bomb attacks outside of several London night clubs. Without going into detail, as his presentation was not developed for the general public, it was almost as if Major Hunt had a crystal ball and knew what was coming, as seen in the above two cases which were similarly discussed at the summit.

The irony of this, is as Major Hunt clearly demonstrated in his presentation, is that our nation's law enforcement agencies, both federal, state and local, know what the vulnerabilities are and where the terrorists are most likely to strike. However, we simply lack the manpower to protect all of them, all the time. Further, even if the staffing was available to do so, would it be the best use of our resources to do so? With violent crime on the rise, we cannot forget about the other war, the war on street crimes happening every day in America.

Hit me once, shame on you, hit me twice, shame on me.

Travel on any of the transit systems in New York, and you'll see highly visible signs posted that state, "If You See Something, Say Something. Report suspicious activity immediately to the NYPD." Leave it to my fellow New Yorkers to get directly to the point. New York understands they are still on the terrorist top three list of targets to hit, and like elephants, terrorists don't forget. Fortunately, neither does the NYPD or New Yorkers. The posted signs are an excellent example of a well-planned outreach program to all who live, work or visit New York, saying that it's okay to call just because something looks suspicious. You don't have to have to wait until you have hard evidence of a terrorist plot in action, you don't have to worry about offending someone because you called to say they are acting suspiciously. If you feel something is not right, then as the poster says, "See Something, Say Something." Psychologists will tell you time and time again, the "gut feel" is a tremendous instinct we all have and to ignore it, especially when it comes to suspicious activity related to potential criminal and/or terrorist activity, is in itself a moral crime against your fellow humans.

While it is critical to reach out to the general public to ask for their help to report suspicious activity, it's just as critical to form partnerships with the many various "watch groups," or to form your own watch group to tap into the wealth of willing and able citizen volunteers. Regardless of where your agency is located, a dense major city, a wide open sprawling countryside, a mid-sized city or a coastal town, a watch group for you to tap into may already be in place. Some examples of the niche watch groups in place today are; Cab Watch, Farm Watch, Ag Watch, Meth Watch, Realty Watch, Ranch Watch, Kid Watch, Airport Watch, College Crime Watch, Park Watch, Waterway Watch, Highway Watch, School Bus Watch, Business Crime Watch, and more. In addition to these watch groups formed for specific purposes, there are of course the traditional and more broad-based types of watch groups that range from your basic Neighborhood Watch and Citizens Crime Watch programs to more formal and directly supervised groups, such as Citizens on Patrol, that continue to grow in use across the nation.

The bottom line is that we know terrorists are out there; we know they are coming, and in some cases we have a good idea of where they want to attack. And while we know all of this, what we may not know is where the terrorists are or will be living prior to their planned attacks. As such, it's incumbent upon all law enforcement agencies to tap into the vast volunteer resources within their communities to help be those critical extra "eyes and ears" looking for suspicious activity while perhaps even deterring those acts before they happen.