Is Transportation Passenger Safety a Homeland Security Issue?

Published in

Homeland Security

4 min readFeb 7, 2016

By Larry King

Many of us, who live and work in large metropolitan areas, use mass transit to travel about. Whether by train or bus, it’s a convenient, efficient way to get around. However, there are pro’s and con’s. Any venue that draws significant numbers of people will also attract problems. There is one in particular that is getting attention in New York City.

The NYC subway system is the largest in the country. More than 4 million riders patronize the system each day. That’s a staggering number. To put it into perspective, in 2014 less than half that number, about 2.1 million people, flew on an airplane daily. That’s for the entire country!

There has been a recent increase in the number of assaults involving cutting weapons. These attacks total seven (7) slashing’s and three (3) stabbings for 2016 as compared to three (3) slashing’s and two (2) stabbings for the same time period in 2015. That seems to be a small number considering how many people use the train. Perception and media focus has driven this issue to be front page news. I’m sure that we all agree that passengers are entitled to a level of safety on the subway system and the security apparatus is responsible for providing it. The biggest problem crime-wise on the subway is larceny. If enough passengers are having their I-phone stolen then that becomes one of the priorities of the police. The attacks have things in common. In most cases the fights are between riders. In others, the perpetrator had mental illness issues.

Is there a correlation between passenger safety and homeland security? Well, yes and no. The answer is yes if you consider the resources that are deployed in mass transit systems throughout the country to deter terrorism. Resources such as police officers, canines, transit employees, security announcements and alike are meant to perpetuate an environment of secure. Is an environment secure from terrorism also safe from criminal activity? The answer is yes. We reap benefits on both fronts when efforts are made to enhance either security or safety.

However, on the other hand the answer could be no. For instance, a program called VIPR, which stands for Visible Intermodal Protection Response, is an initiative of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). This is the agency that provides aviation security via passenger and baggage screening at our airports. The TSA has responsibilities in other modes of transportation aside from aviation such as rail, highway motor-carrier, pipelines and water ferries. The agency engages in other activities besides screening in these sectors. The VIPR Program consists of federal employees projecting a security presence to deter terrorism. The basic component of employees consists of air marshals. They are armed and can provide a law enforcement presence. Considering that the VIPR initiative is not wide spread (it operates in select metropolitan areas) and the small number of air marshals in contrast to vast transportation venues in the U.S, you may never come across the program in action.

Here is the dilemma. Should air marshals be on an airplane to provide aviation security or should they be in a bus terminal or train station to augment surface transportation security? Their numbers are insignificant in comparison to dedicated law enforcement assets such as county and city police. More importantly, the air marshals are diverted away from their primary mission, protecting the flying public. Are municipal police resources being directed away from local concerns to supplement security issues in aviation? No, the public would not permit it. Then what is the rationale behind having the air marshals patrol surface transportation instead of protecting aircraft?

So back we go to the original question. Is transportation passenger safety a homeland security issue? The better question is can we more efficiently utilize federal resources in the fight against transportation related terrorism? Yes, we can. Ask the air marshals if you spot them at a highway toll plaza and see what response you get.

See other articles by Homeland XYZ:

Is Transportation Passenger Safety a Homeland Security Issue?

Written by Homeland XYZ