"If you See Something, Say Something" Theme promoted by Alabama Department of Homeland Security to Report Suspicious Criminal Activity
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: July 19, 2012
Director
Spencer Collier on Wednesday joins the federal government's response to
suspicious activity by touting the "If you See Something, Say
Something"
program.
Following
a directive by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, Director Collier wishes to raise public awareness
of indicators
of terrorist activities and to emphasize the importance of reporting
suspicious activity to the proper law enforcement agencies.
"This
initiative has already paid dividends to the nation and the state of
Alabama," Director Collier said. "Law enforcement officers rely on the
tips from everyday
citizens to report suspicious activity. The bottom line is this, if you
feel that something is out of place in your environment, more than
likely, you're correct. If you see something, say something because
homeland security starts with hometown security."
The
public should contact law enforcement via 9-1-1 when an immediate
response is needed regarding suspicious activity for any type of crime
including terrorism.
Once that information is received, first responders and law enforcement
officers are required to send these reports of suspicious activity to
the Alabama Fusion Center.
As indicated in Governor Bentley's Executive Order 13, the Alabama Fusion Center's mission is
to promote
the collection, integration, and evaluation of information that has an
effect on detecting and preventing criminal or terrorist related
activity. Additionally, it serves as an intergovernmental bridge
between federal, state, local and private entities to promote
collaboration and information sharing between law enforcement agencies
throughout the state.
According
to the Fusion Center Director Joe Davis, "Over 80% of the planned
terrorist attacks since 9/11 have been stopped as a direct result of
citizens who
saw something unusual and reported the suspicious activity to the proper
authorities. It's always appropriate to report suspicious activity to
local law enforcement because they are in the best position to
investigate and take immediate action. When this is
not possible, our web site provides links and information regarding how
citizens, private sector security personnel, first responders and other
stakeholders can report suspicious activity."
Alabama
citizens should provide criminal or terrorist related tips to their
local law enforcement agencies.
These tips will be investigated locally and then reported by law
enforcement to the Alabama Fusion Center. However, citizens may also
provide an anonymous tip directly to the Fusion Center at fusion.alabama.gov
under the Public Awareness tab.
