A Department of Homeland Security advisory issued early this year provided dire warnings for live entertainment venues, in particular, suggesting that it’s not if, but when, terrorism attacks like those seen in Europe are repeated in the U.S.
Andrea Schultz, deputy director, Office of SAFETYAct Implementation, Department of Homeland Security, brought that point home to attendees of the Stadium Managers Association, illustrating how the landscape has changed and homegrown, backyard attacks are more prevalent.
There are several online magazines detailing how to make bombs and attack venues, all filled with praise for successful terrorism attacks, all written in English and many with articles specifically for women, she said. It’s a global problem.
Most people are aware of these magazines as a result of publicity following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. The 11th edition of Inspire magazine, in March 2013, praised Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev for their Boston attack, specifically commending the pair’s choice in targeting an iconic and “symbolic” race, which attracted international media attention and thousands of participants and spectators. It also applauded their placement of IEDs “near the finish line where large crowds cheer.”
ISIL and al-Qa‘ida messaging has emphasized attacks against large crowds in the West, using “all available means,” to inflict mass casualties, and specifically has suggested sports stadiums as targets, according to an unclassified government report. For example, the early November 2016 third issue of ISIL’s official magazine, Rumiyah, highlighted “large outdoor conventions and celebrations, pedestrian-congested streets, outdoor markets, festivals, parades, and political rallies.” The magazine’s inaugural issue also called for supporters to stab, shoot, poison, and run over Australians at multiple locations, including at the Melbourne and Sydney cricket grounds.
Schultz began her talk to stadium managers with some of those dire warning signs and with the admission that “I hope you come away with an interest in participating in the SAFETY Act.”
Though the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act (SAFETY Act) was part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, it is just now gaining traction with live entertainment venues and sports leagues. It provides incentives for the development and deployment of anti-terrorism technologies by creating systems of risk and litigation management. According the the DHS, the purpose of the Act is to ensure that the threat of liability does not deter potential manufacturers or sellers of effective anti-terrorism technologies from developing and commercializing technologies that could save lives. The program is managed by the Office of SAFETY Act Implementation within the Science and Technology Directorate. The Under Secretary for Science and Technology is the deciding official for SAFETY Act applications.
While the process for Safety Act certification is admittedly onerous, Schultz said her department is there to help. She advised interested venues should get DHS involved in the pre-application process, because once the application is submitted, the department is under mandate to push it through for approval or rejection in just 120 days. There’s no time to start over, so she wants it done right the first time. A site visit during the pre-application process is really beneficial, she advised.
Buzzwords in the security world today are “evolving threat environment” and “homegrown priority threat,” she said. “The risk picture is really different today than it was then. We have to think outside the box to reduce that risk.”
“You need to know that the threat is not what it once was,” Schultz said. “This makes the job of law enforcement really, really difficult.” Clues are lost because the potential perpetrator is looking at how to build a bomb on his smartphone on the bus on his way home from work.
“There is a huge shift from big, complex attacks to small, in-your-backyard attacks,” Schultz said. After an event like the bombings in Paris, venue managers should be reacting by immediately changing their operational environment. “You should be asking questions about parking. Do you have a high speed avenue of approach in your queue or in your parking lot?”
“It never ends,” she said, and the time to act and react is every day.
To maintain SAFETY Act certification, venues would have to re-evaluate the risk every year, another advantage to being certified. She offered to help any venue manager interested to get access to the Homeland Security Information Network.
While protection from undue litigation is a lure of the SAFETY Act, it’s really about risk mitigation. DHS is certifying technology that can be deployed, testing and updating the offers consistently. And technology is loosely interpreted, including protocols, procedures and processes. They are always evaluating new technologies, like the person-borne explosive detection canine. Certification requires a track record.
“Don’t look at ‘green label’ [being evaluated] as less than ‘blue,’ [certified], it’s just that it is something newer,” she said. “Blue-designated has been around.”
Admittedly, for the SAFETY Act to apply in post-attack protection, the attack has to be designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security as an act of terrorism. But when it is, venues that are Safety Act certified have a liability cap should an act of terrorism occur. “If there were an act of terriorism, your liability number [from general insurance] would be blown out of the water,” Schultz said.
“The liability cap is a fantastic benefit, but other benefits are even more valuable,” she added. It takes all resulting lawsuits (and fans come from various states) to one federal court. And only the seller of the technology can be sued if you are purchasing SAFETY Act-approved technology, “like one of the security services or an actual widget; you’re dismissed from the suit. That’s a big deal too, you don’t have to fight.”
Litigation continued for almost 20 years after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York, she said. “And the judge can award damages with interest from the day the case was filed. You’re protected from that.”
When prepping a SAFETY Act application, Schultz advised crafting a technology definition, exactly what you want covered, with documentation and narrative description. Everyone on the venue’s team with a role in developing, evaluating or deploying its security program should participate in preparing the application.
“One NFL stadium had a meeting every Friday, dished out homework every week, and moved on to the next question” until the application was complete. The result was well put together and easy to evaluate, she said.
The National Football League and Major League Baseball are going through a cultural shift, embracing documentation, she said. “It’s such a healthy habit to have. Document what you do.”
Only one university, Southern Methodist University, is SAFETY Act-certified, she said, and that is a campus-wide program. “One of the things you need to think about – do you have statutory protection from the state already? And think about the other protections from the SAFETY Act — exclusive action in federal court, limited punitive damages —think about do you have these same protections?”
She also suggested stadium managers look beyond baseball, football or soccer to being sure all events are covered, even weddings or corporate events. “What is your risk for those kinds of events. What are you doing to make sure that’s not a potential for terrorism.”
The DHS does not have a template or checklist for SAFETY Act applications, she added. “We want you to think outside the box in how you tell your story.”
There is a financial evaluation component, which meets some resistance, she admitted. DHS will need financial data, like technology revenue, tickets sales, cost to implement the security program, insurance coverage, in order to place a liability cap per event. Rest assured all the information is confidential and sharing it is not only unethical, it’s illegal. “We do a good job of keeping it quiet, which keeps our applicants coming,” Schultz said.
With the new administration, there will be a new undersecretary in place soon, but Schultz is confident that President Donald Trump’s staff will be pro-SAFETY Act and supportive of DHS.
Chris Robinette, Prevent Advisors, noted “our peers overseas are treating this as though it is a matter of when, not if. The pressing trend here is it’s really a global problem. The DHS and Secret Service are looking at this as a pretty credible problem. It is worth our time to be much more vigilant.”
Tying in with the Department of Homeland Security gives participants closer access to reports and recommendations, Robinette concurred. “This is a very evolutionary-based threat and changing all the time, almost daily. It takes that type of pro-activity. You are always looking to make yourself an unattractive target.”
Rick Fenton, chief security officer for the Illitch organization in Detroit, was one of the first to have executed the SAFETY Act and spends a lot of time advising others, Robinette noted. “The SAFETY Act helps cap liability but also helps stadiums maintain best practices. Anyone who is doing that has to go through the process of asking what should we do or could we do to stay current and active. And you are constantly refreshing protocols to maintain that certification.”
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