Reporting suspicious activity - Terrorism

[Mr. Security]

Yesterday, I called our local police to report a man filming a train as it was passing by. He parked his vehicle on our property, nearly got hit running across the road, climbed up a very steep embankment near a RR bridge, and started filming very close to the passing train that carries dangerous chemicals.

I reported the vehicle's make, model, color, gave a partial plate number and the direction of travel to the dispatcher. I listened for the dispatch over the scanner. The dispatcher failed to give the partial plate number, said the vehicle was southbound when I reported it as northbound, and said it was occupied 1X when in fact I said 2-3x.

I called her back and reminded her that the vehicle was traveling northbound. While I waited on the phone, I had to listen to her smack the chewing gum that she had in her mouth. She ended the call by saying "all right" with a tone that conveyed indifference. By the time the police where in the area, the vehicle was GOA.

None of the officers who responded asked to speak with me or inquired about having the incident recorded on CCTV. Is it any wonder that we are vulnerable to terrorism with professionals like that at the police department?

[Taser]

Call Dateline. They'll do a special on it.

But seriously, that's pretty pathetic that the dispatcher doesn't even bother to give the information over the air properly. When you called back she was probably just pissed that you were listening and corrected her.

How long did it take the police to show up?

[ycaso77]

It does seem that reports of suspicious activity are an extremely low priority with many departments. Giving the PD's thier due though, with stretched resources it can be quite tough to decide between a shutterbug and keeping up with the "normal" police calls. Rail is the forgotton side of transit security- until something happens. Seems you got a dispatcher with one of those " its only a security guy" attitudes. Best you can do is keep plugging away, at least you know you did YOUR job.

[Lawson]

Train enthusiasts taking pictures or filming of trains is so rampant throughout the U.S. the local police would not have time to contact every single one of these people. Also, most local U.S. Police, especially the ones in smaller or rural towns would not know how to investigate a possible terrorist.

This would be a good time for the railroad to develop a Railroad Police Department who would be more suited for this type of work.

[ycaso77]

Train enthusiasts taking pictures or filming of trains is so rampant throughout the U.S. the local police would not have time to contact every single one of these people. Also, most local U.S. Police, especially the ones in smaller or rural towns would not know how to investigate a possible terrorist.

This would be a good time for the railroad to develop a Railroad Police Department who would be more suited for this type of work.

I live near an access point for the main rail line between NYC and Boston. The number of times I've seen an Amtrak cop in the last year I can count on one hand. Luckily the track is shared between Amtrak and MetroNorth beginning a little farther south, so if I call them about an issue they'll "wander" a bit farther to check it out. The cost for a large enough rail force would be prohibitive, but at least they could install regional CCTV/Electronic monitoring stations for the areas most susceptible to rail terrorism. And like you said, go down to the station any day and you have to beat the train watchers off the fence with a stick.

[Bill Warnock]

Yesterday, I called our local police to report a man filming a train as it was passing by. He parked his vehicle on our property, nearly got hit running across the road, climbed up a very steep embankment near a RR bridge, and started filming very close to the passing train that carries dangerous chemicals.

I reported the vehicle's make, model, color, gave a partial plate number and the direction of travel to the dispatcher. I listened for the dispatch over the scanner. The dispatcher failed to give the partial plate number, said the vehicle was southbound when I reported it as northbound, and said it was occupied 1X when in fact I said 2-3x.

I called her back and reminded her that the vehicle was traveling northbound. While I waited on the phone, I had to listen to her smack the chewing gum that she had in her mouth. She ended the call by saying "all right" with a tone that conveyed indifference. By the time the police where in the area, the vehicle was GOA.

None of the officers who responded asked to speak with me or inquired about having the incident recorded on CCTV. Is it any wonder that we are vulnerable to terrorism with professionals like that at the police department?

Mr. Security, permit me to get on my soapbox once again.
What you have described is so typical of many emergency call centers, none of the attendants is or ever was a sworn officer. They have no notion of what it is like to take critical information and then pass it on to the appropriate responding unit.
Her total disregard to your correction really pushes the mark.
In this country, we are faced with a critical shortage of police officers and are offering many incentives to potential recruits and in some instances lowering acceptance standards. DC did that in I think 1989. A lot of the folks are now in jail or fired.
Emergency call centers now must resort to hire them if they are "warm to the touch."
Where I live in Prince William County Virginia, we are truly blessed with top-notch employees in the center. Chief Charlie Dean holds supervisors accountable for the actions of all his force, civilian and sworn.
He has talked and written at length, trouble is, nobody listens to it or reads it and takes it to heart.
The citizens in jurisdictions must become actively involved. Accurate intelligence from any source is worth its weight in gold but at the same time perishable and must be acted on with a sense of immediacy.
Mr. Security, thank you for that post.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[N. A. Corbier]

Kind of amusing, but some of the "telecommunicators" I've dealt with had a superior attitude, like they were somehow better than a "civilian" because they worked for a law enforcement agency.

Never had a problem with the County 911 system in Pinellas, it was staffed and organized by Pinellas Emergency Operations, and the dispatchers were EMS personnel. If you had a LE emergency, they called the non-emergency number for you after starting fire/rescue, and gave the LE telecommunicator a rundown in moonspeak.

We stopped calling 911 and just called non-emergency for LE issues, it was quicker. Some agencies, we went through 911 because they'd dispatch for 911, but not for us.

[HotelSecurity]

There's a very big problem with the 9-1-1

We're still having the problems with posts being cut off again!!

[ycaso77]

Mr. Security, permit me to get on my soapbox once again.
What you have described is so typical of many emergency call centers, none of the attendants is or ever was a sworn officer. They have no notion of what it is like to take critical information and then pass it on to the appropriate responding unit.
Her total disregard to your correction really pushes the mark.
In this country, we are faced with a critical shortage of police officers and are offering many incentives to potential recruits and in some instances lowering acceptance standards. DC did that in I think 1989. A lot of the folks are now in jail or fired.
Emergency call centers now must resort to hire them if they are "warm to the touch."
Where I live in Prince William County Virginia, we are truly blessed with top-notch employees in the center. Chief Charlie Dean holds supervisors accountable for the actions of all his force, civilian and sworn.
He has talked and written at length, trouble is, nobody listens to it or reads it and takes it to heart.
The citizens in jurisdictions must become actively involved. Accurate intelligence from any source is worth its weight in gold but at the same time perishable and must be acted on with a sense of immediacy.
Mr. Security, thank you for that post.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

Out of curiosity, do dispatchers in VA have to be state certified? Here dispatchers have to attend the state 911 Telecommunications class given by the state police and Emergency Med Dispatch and an equipment course. About 3 weeks all told then you get your certificate. Even some private security is required to attend and be certified. Any one have info on how your area handles this?

[Mr. Security]

Call Dateline. They'll do a special on it.

But seriously, that's pretty pathetic that the dispatcher doesn't even bother to give the information over the air properly. When you called back she was probably just pissed that you were listening and corrected her.

How long did it take the police to show up?

She didn't like it at all. The police in my area respond all the time to minor calls like kids loitering or animal complaints. I find that some of them just don't want to investigate calls that require paperwork. It's easier to handle calls were they can verbally report the disposition of the call in the dispatcher's narrative. Examples: Services rendered, Resolved, Unfounded, GOA, and the like. Response time was 7 minutes. Not bad considering the incorrect information that was dispatched.

[Tennsix]

She didn't like it at all. The police in my area respond all the time to minor calls like kids loitering or animal complaints. I find that some of them just don't want to investigate calls that require paperwork. It's easier to handle calls were they can verbally report the disposition of the call in the dispatcher's narrative. Examples: Services rendered, Resolved, Unfounded, GOA, and the like. Response time was 7 minutes. Not bad considering the incorrect information that was dispatched.

Your observation is very astute. We both have been police dispatchers therefore; we are qualified to speak on this topic. Two of my biggest peeves is a know-it-all dispatcher and a lazy cop.