Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Trip to Texas

[The Patriot]

Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Trip to Texas

09-20-2011 04:00 AM

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

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today traveled to Houston, joining Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Houston Police Department Chief Charles McClelland Jr. to announce a new partnership between the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign and the city of Houston.

“Homeland security begins with hometown security, and every citizen has a role to play,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Time and time again, we’ve seen the value of vigilance in our communities when potential threats have been thwarted. Recently, it was a store employee in Killeen, Texas who reported suspicious behavior to authorities, potentially averting another deadly attack at the Fort Hood Army Base.”

Over the past year, DHS has collaborated closely with 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 ensure the sharing of those reports with the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation. To date, approximately 100,000 law enforcement officials have received training through the SAR initiative.

Recently, the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign announced partnerships with several sports organizations and collegiate universities, including National Football League (NFL) teams, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, the U.S. Open Tennis and Golf Championships, Ohio State University, and the University of Oklahoma. Other recent partnerships include the states of Florida and Maryland, the cities of Baltimore and Newark, the Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix, and state and major urban area fusion centers across the country.

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 our country safe.

While in Texas, Secretary Napolitano also observed fire rescue training and toured the Emergency Operations Training Center in College Station, Texas to survey ongoing efforts to combat wildfires in Texas. Secretary Napolitano then delivered remarks to students and faculty at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

Secretary Napolitano will travel to Orlando, Fla. tomorrow to attend the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) International 57th annual Seminar and Exhibits, and deliver remarks at the annual Law Enforcement Military Appreciation Day lunch.

For more information, please visit www.dhs.gov.

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