Secretary Napolitano Announces “If You See Something, Say Something™” Campaign

[The Patriot]

Secretary Napolitano Announces “If You See Something, Say Something™” Campaign Partnership with Los Angeles

04-25-2011 04:00 AM

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

Secretaria Napolitano Anuncia Sociedad Con Los Ángeles En Campaña
"Si Ve Algo, Diga Algo™"

LOS ANGELES—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today joined Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LA County Sheriff Baca, Chief of Los Angeles Port Police Ronald Boyd and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck at the Los Angeles Port of Entry to announce the expansion of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign to the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Department, and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department to help ensure the safety and security of Los Angeles.

"Every citizen plays a role in identifying and reporting suspicious activities and threats," said Secretary Napolitano. "Expanding the 'If You See Something, Say Something™' campaign to Los Angeles and across the country is an important part of our efforts to partner with the public to keep our country safe and resilient."

The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign—originally implemented by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.

DHS and the city of Los Angeles will distribute "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign posters in English and Spanish throughout the city, with materials displayed throughout the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Transit System, the Port of Los Angeles, as well as police stations and fire stations.

In March, Secretary Napolitano joined AEG President and CEO Timothy J. Leiweke at the company's STAPLES Center to announce the expansion of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign to stadiums, arenas, theatres, clubs, convention centers and other venues owned by or affiliated with AEG Facilities—a division of Los Angeles-based AEG—in an effort to help ensure safety and security of the American public.

Over the past nine months, DHS has worked with its federal, state, local and private sector partners, as well as the Department of Justice, to expand the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative—an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and expand and enhance the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DHS—to communities throughout the country.

Partnerships with the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign have recently been launched by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL), as well as in several states including Colorado, Minnesota and New Jersey, more than 9,000 federal buildings nationwide, Walmart, Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Amtrak, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the general aviation industry, and state and local fusion centers across the country. Last month, Secretary Napolitano unveiled the "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness video, available here.

In the coming months, DHS will continue to expand the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign nationally to help America's business, communities and citizens remain vigilant and play an active role in keeping the country safe.

The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign complements the implementation of the new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS)—a robust terrorism advisory system that provides timely information to the public about credible terrorist threats and replaces the former color-coded alert system—that Secretary Napolitano announced last week. NTAS alerts provide a concise summary of the potential threat including, when applicable, geographic region, mode of transportation, or critical infrastructure potentially affected by the threat, actions being taken to ensure public safety, as well as recommended steps that individuals, communities, business and governments can take to help prevent, mitigate or respond to a threat.

While in Los Angeles, Secretary Napolitano also joined Mayor Villaraigosa to tour the Maritime Law Enforcement Training Center (MLETC) at the Port of Los Angeles and highlighted the launch of the country's first maritime curriculum—approved by DHS and California Emergency Management Agency—specifically designed to train state and local law enforcement personnel.

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