WASHINGTON—Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano launched the first phase of DHS’ nationwide “See Something, Say Something” campaign and announced a new national information-sharing partnership with Amtrak as part of the Department’s nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) initiative during a whistlestop
train tour—highlighting the public’s role in keeping our country safe and the Obama administration’s commitment to bolstering surface transportation security.
“Implementing a national suspicious activity reporting partnership with Amtrak and expanding the ‘See Something, Say Something,’ campaign strengthens our ability to guard against terrorism and crime,” said Secretary Napolitano. “These initiatives enable us to provide frontline security personnel with the latest information and intelligence to recognize behaviors and indicators associated with new and evolving threats.”
The announcements came during a multi-stop train tour through New York City, Newark, N.J., Philadelphia and Washington. Secretary Napolitano was joined by Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor as well as law enforcement leaders and elected officials. Secretary Napolitano also swore in John Pistole, former Deputy Director of the FBI, as TSA Administrator in a ceremony at New York City’s Penn Station. He then joined for the remainder of the tour.
The “See Something, Say Something” campaign—originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority and funded, in part, by $13 million from DHS’ Transit Security Grant Program—is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats and emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.
In the coming months, DHS will expand the “See Something, Say Something” campaign nationally with public education materials, advertisements and other outreach tools to continue engaging travelers, businesses, community organizations, and public and private sector employees to remain vigilant and play an active role in keeping our country safe.
