Local officials call for more mass transit security funding

More federal funding is needed to research and develop technology to identify nuclear, chemical or biological weapons on mass transit systems, according to local transit security officials. Without new detection systems and sensors, mass transit is virtually defenseless against an attack involving a weapon of mass destruction, transit security experts warn.

"The federal government needs to aggressively pursue the research and development of these products, especially in mass transit where you're moving hundred of thousands of people," New Jersey Transit Police Chief Joseph Bober told Global Security Newswire.

Concerns over transit security increased following the terrorist attacks last month against London subway trains and buses. Bober said New Jersey Transit, which transports more than 760,000 people each day, has been on a heightened state of alert since the Madrid train bombing in 2004 and stepped up patrols following the London attacks.

Many officers patrolling the New Jersey Transit system carry radiation detectors the size of a pager during rounds on trains, Bober said. However, detection methods for biological and chemical weapons, like those recently tested in New York's Grand Central Station, are not ready for widespread use and have not been thoroughly tested, according to Bober.

Maria White, police commander with Bay Area Rapid Transit Police in San Francisco, agreed that more federal money is needed to improve defense against a WMD attack.

"We've asked for lots of money to fund some of our security programs and we have not received what I believe would be an acceptable response from the federal government," White said. "We've taken proactive steps to study ourselves, to review our vulnerabilities. But we haven't been able to take all the steps we want to because we don't have the funding."

Patrols have been stepped on Bay Area trains, which move 300,000 passengers daily, following the London attacks, White said. Security cameras are also used to monitor suspicious passengers. White would not elaborate on other WMD detection devices used in the transit system, but said additional security steps need to be taken.

White said the federal government is too reactive when it comes to making security-funding decisions. She said she hopes the London attacks will draw attention to transit security inadequacies like the September 2001 terrorist attacks highlighted holes in U.S. air security. Without additional federal funding, many of the measures transit systems could take to prevent a weapon of mass destruction from being detonated on a subway or bus remain out of reach, according to White.

"We have a big wish list out there as far as for what funding we're seeking and for what," she said. "There is more we can do for detection, whether it be more cameras, or smart technology in those cameras."

Federal support is also lacking for police patrolling trains, said Rich Roberts, spokesman for the International Union of Police Associations, which represents 120,000 officers below the rank of sergeant.

"Our folks in the field have not really seen much support at all," Roberts said. He argued that too much focus has been placed on advanced technological solutions instead of providing money to train officers how to recognize an attack or the symptoms of an attack.

"We're not talking rocket science here," Robert said. "With an excessive focus on high-tech, we've lost the field edge. … Instead of replacing the old ways, you need to supplement them" with new technologies.

Roberts dismissed a recent comment by Homeland Security Department Michael Chertoff, who said local agencies should shoulder the burden for increased mass transit security. He argued that because the federal government is making demands of local law enforcement for improved surveillance and security, "It makes sense for the feds to pick up the tab."

Roberts said security in transit systems and in cities has improved since the Sept. 11 attacks. However, the attacks in London are a reminder that money needs to be spent on additional law enforcement training.

"If you don't have the beat cops out there with adequate support, you aren't going to win," Roberts said. "You aren't going to protect the people."

The Homeland Security Department has been working with other government agencies and private business to develop new technologies, but it is not clear when these would be ready for use or how they would be integrated into security systems, according to Bober and White. Calls to the department were referred to the solicitation and teaming portal Web page of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, where the department posts requests for proposals for new technologies.

Listed on the page is a solicitation for low-pressure chemicals detection systems, which are described as "state of the art and next generation systems that can detect toxic compounds … without coming in contact with the contaminated surface." The proposal does not specify how the system would be used.

A second proposal asks for low-cost, bio-aerosol detector systems, a cheaper, smaller version of the bio-aerosol detector system that can detect airborne toxins. Although the proposal does not give specifics about how the device would be used, it asks that the system be capable of use by "nontechnical personnel."

The House of Representatives has allocated $100 million for transit security in the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security Department appropriations bill. The Senate has allocated $150 million, matching the White House request and the amount allocated in the present fiscal year. The bill is in conference committee.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., are leading the fight for the extra funding.

"The recent attacks in London again demonstrate that transit systems are attractive targets, and it is crucial that steps be taken to mitigate the potential of another terrorist attack from occurring in the United States," the senators said in a joint statement last week. "Fourteen million people rely on mass transit systems in our country every day. We must provide assistance to system owners and operators to continue rapid deployment of security enhancements."

Collins spokeswoman Elissa Davidson said none of the additional $50 million in the Senate bill is earmarked specifically to improve WMD detection capabilities.