In the US, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced new partnerships between the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign and several sports organizations and collegiate universities.
Partnerships include National Football League (NFL) teams, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships (USTA), Ohio State University, and the University of Oklahoma. <br><br>"Every citizen plays a critical role in identifying and reporting suspicious activities and threats," said Napolitano. "By expanding the ‘If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign we are working together to ensure the safety and security of fans, players, employees, and students." <br><br>The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign – originally by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign – seeks to engage the US public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.<br><br>Over the past year, DHS has collaborated 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 recognise behaviours 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation.<br><br>The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign originally partnered with the NFL in January 2011 during the Super Bowl XLVI, and is now expanding to the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, and San Diego Chargers with digital and video materials displayed at each stadium. Similarly, the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign partnerships with MLB began last season and has now expanded to the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. The USTA has announced their partnership with the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign for a second year, and have displayed digital and print materials during all matches. <br><br>Other partnerships with the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign have been recently launched by 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. <br><br>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.
