May 17, 2013

The Boston Bombings: A Wake-Up Call from our Complacency

By: Bradley C. Schreiber

The pendulum has swung back. After 12 years of success by our federal, state and local law enforcement and intelligence communities to thwart large scale attacks on the United States, our nation has, once again, been reminded that we continue to be terror target. With the horrific attacks in Boston, the public has been awakened from a disturbing trend toward complacency that had begun to threaten our national security efforts.

After September 11, 2001, the idea that we were immune from a foreign-based terrorist attack because of our geography was shattered. As a result, the homeland security pendulum almost instantaneously swung the other way. Changes were quickly implemented to enhance security that dramatically impacted our daily activities: body scanners and pat downs became routine at airports; bags were screened at subways; radiological and biological detectors were installed; people were expected to be vigilant and report suspicious activity; and barriers and security cameras went up almost everywhere. Life, for the most part, was never quite the same again.

While these and other efforts had a direct impact on making our country safer, over time our success had unintended consequences. The general public started to become more used to the idea of enhanced security and, as a result, became increasingly complacent. In fact, over the past few years, people have even started to show outward belligerence to our efforts (i.e. increasing reports of people objecting to searches at airports).

What may be more concerning is the fact that this phenomenon may have bled into our nation’s leaders. The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA), for example, recently made the inexplicable decision to allow, among other things, certain knives aboard planes. Additionally, for the first time last year, Congress reduced the funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and grant funding for state and local first responders. Taken altogether, it became clear to those who work in the homeland security enterprise that the pendulum was swinging back the other way.
While officials have tried to mitigate the public’s complacency with programs such as DHS’s “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign, which has seen some success, for the most part, there was little anyone really could do. That was, until the terrorist attacks in Boston.

In many ways, the Boston bombings were a game changer. It was not only the first major terrorist attack since the Sept. 11, 2011 attack, but it was the first to occur someplace other than New York City and Washington, DC … both long targets of Al Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations. Now, all Americans know that anyone can be a target at anytime and anywhere.

Additionally, the Boston terrorists managed to trip the tripwire by breaking through enhanced security put into place to protect these types of high profile events. Law enforcement and homeland security officials will now have to go back and look at what went right and what went wrong and evaluate how we can prevent this type of attack from occurring again.

The fact is, though, we do not have the time, money or resources to guarantee that everyone will be protected from all threats, all the time. What we can, and must do, however, is continue to utilize and improve the “smart security” approach we have taken over the past few years. This approach includes, among other things, making risk-based security decisions; continuing to develop new threat detection technologies; ensuring information sharing among federal, state, local, tribal and international partners; enhancing the use of social media and developing reporting-by-exception software; increasing public awareness campaigns; strengthening our nation’s fusion centers; and making sure that the right amount of funding is allocated for our federal, state and local first responders.

One of the most inspiring things we saw after the Boston terrorist attacks was the way the public reacted. While there was some expected confusion -- and even a little panic -- for the most part, people reacted the way officials had hoped they would after years of preparedness training … with clear eyes and a steady hand. Racers, family and general bystanders almost immediately jumped in to help the victims. The general public understands, now more than ever, that each person may be called upon to act as a first responder. The key, however, is to make sure we find an equilibrium between security and day-to-day life, because we cannot afford to have the pendulum continue to swing back and forth.

Bradley C. Schreiber, is a former senior advisor at the Department of Homeland Security and is the vice president for the Applied Science Foundation for Homeland Security, a bipartisan, non-profit homeland security foundation.