New Homeland Security Initiative
September 1st, 2011 by flanewsJust 10 days before the 10 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks, The Department of Homeland Security is launching a new controversial initiative in Florida. It�s called �If You See Something Say Something,� and as Whitney Ray tells us, it encourages Floridians to report people they think are suspicious.
In a 10 minute video on the Department of Homeland Security�s website a host of mainly white male actors break into secure areas, place suspicious packages and run reconnaissance on public transportation.
The video is part of a Homeland Security Initiative new to Florida to encourage people to report activities they deem suspicious.
Law enforcement officers say the state is safer than it was before 9/11, there are no specific threats and people are already calling police to report suspicious activity. They don�t want citizens to let their guard down.
�We have no specific threats. This is an enhancement of what we have now,� said FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey.
A hotline number has been set up. 1-855-FLA-SAFE. The phone is answered at the Florida Fusion Center which is a hub that gathers intelligence from local, state, and federal agencies on people the government thinks could be planning a terrorist attack.
Homeland Security credits citizen reports for stopping a Time Square bombing last year and a gunman targeting a military base in Texas. Governor Rick Scott says if the program saves one life it�s worth it.
�Law enforcement is there to take care of us,� said Scott.
Since 9/11 the US has killed Osama Bin Laden, ran terrorists out of Afghanistan and given the TSA a lot of leeway at airports, it�s unclear how effective these efforts are, but the country hasn�t been attacked again. Homeland Security is asking people to focus on activities, not people�s ethnicity, religion or political views. If someone is reported strictly because of their religion or ethnicity, investigators say they�ll ignore the report.
Here�s the ACLU�s statement on the new initiative:
�These �turn in your neighbor� programs produce unreliable information and are little more than a government sponsored invitation to view everyone as a potential criminal and act on racial and ethnic stereotypes,� said Howard Simon, the Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida.
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