In the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano travelled to New Orleans to highlight the Department’s security role before Super Bowl XLVII, and the continued work with the National Football League (NFL) on the “If You See Something, Say Something public awareness campaign.
She said: “Security is a shared responsibility and our continued partnership with the NFL on the “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign during the Super Bowl is a critical part of our security efforts.”
As part of the Department’s “If You See Something, Say Something” partnership with Super Bowl XLVII, campaign graphics appeared on the videoboard, televisions and posters throughout the Superdome on game day. Safety messaging will also be printed in game programs and fan guides for staff, players, and volunteers. In addition, “If You See Something, Say Something” adverts ran throughout New Orleans at the airport, on billboards, and on public transportation, magazines and visitor guides.
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 US-wide campaign—aims to engage the public and frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.
The Department launched the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign with the Department of Justice’s Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (SAR). SAR seeks to train state and local law enforcement to recognise behaviors and indicators related to terrorism and terrorism-related crime; standardise how those observations are documented and analysed; and ensure the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation and ‘fusion centres’ for analysis.
Ms Napolitano also met local law enforcers and viewed security operations at and around the Superdome including the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to provide security assessments and training to state and local law enforcement, local hotel employees, and others to help them identify potential risks and take steps to mitigate them. For more information, visit www.dhs.gov.
