Coinciding with Attorney General Eric Holder telling ABC News this week
that “the American people would be surprised by the depth of the
[homegrown terrorist] threat” while discussing his growing concern about
Americans becoming radicalized and turning to terrorism, Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano told the Council on Foreign Relations that it
is incumbent that citizens pay attention to their surroundings for
anything suspicious and out of place, and to report it to proper
authorities. It might just prevent a domestic terrorist attack, she
said.
“With respect to individuals and the private sector, we’re taking a
much closer look at how we can support and inform our greatest asset,
individual citizens, and with them the private sector. You are the ones
who know if something is not right in your communities, such as a
suspicious package or unusual activity,” Napolitano said.
What To Do If You Spot Suspicious Terrorist Activity
If you see suspicious behavior, do not confront the individuals
involved.
Take note of the details:
S – Size (Jot down the number of people, gender,
ages, and physical descriptions)
A – Activity (Describe exactly what they are
doing)
L – Location (Provide exact location)
U – Uniform (Describe what they are wearing,
including shoes)
T – Time (Provide date, time, and duration of
activity)
E - Equipment (Describe vehicle, make, color etc.,
license plate, camera, guns, etc)
Suspicious activity is often recalled after an event. We must train
ourselves to be on the lookout for things that are out of the ordinary
and arouse suspicions.
Read more on how to spot suspicious
activity and what to do.
Napolitano said “three years ago, it was an attentive store clerk who
told authorities about men trying to duplicate extremist DVDs. This led
federal agents to eventually round up a plot to kill American soldiers at
the Fort Dix army base here in New Jersey.”
And “just last month, a passenger saw two employees exchange a bag at
the Philadelphia airport that had not been properly screened. That
passenger’s vigilance ultimately stopped a gun from getting onto the
plane.”
“For too long, we’ve treated the public as a liability to be protected
rather than an asset in our nation’s collective security,” Napolitano
confessed.
“There’s actually an important role we can play in educating even our
very young about watching for, and knowing what to do, if you’re in an
airport and you see a package left with no one around,” Napolitano
said.
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This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National
Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.
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