To support the nationwide launch of the "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign, Secretary Janet Napolitano released a new series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) encouraging the public to contact local authorities if they see suspicious activity.

 

Announcing a New “If You See Something, Say Something” Partnership with the Hospitality Industry

Posted by Secretary Napolitano

“If You See Something, Say Something™” TV and Radio PSAs

Today, I am proud to join the American Hotel & Lodging Association and LodgeNet Interactive to unveil a new partnership that will significantly expand the “If You See Something, Say Something ™” campaign.

As part of this partnership, a 15 second public service announcement will begin airing on the “Welcome Channel” in nearly 1.2 million hotels rooms in more than 5,400 hotels in all 50 states. Its message is simple and clear: if you see something that doesn’t look right—an unattended bag or package, a person behaving in a suspicious manner, a vehicle that seems out of place—report it to the authorities. This private sector partnership is another example of how DHS and our nation’s hospitality industry are working together to protect our country, recognizing that security and economic prosperity often go hand-in-hand.

As I’ve said in the past, hometown security is the key to homeland security. Time and again, we have seen the value of public vigilance in thwarting terrorism and crime, including foiled plots against Times Square in May 2010, a Martin Luther King day parade route in Washington state last year, and more recently, at the Ft. Hood Army Base in Texas. Each of these plots could have ended differently—and tragically—had someone not reported suspicious activity to authorities.

Through efforts like “If You See Something, Say Something™”, we can engage all sectors of our community, including the millions of guests that stay at hotels each year, in our homeland security efforts. America’s hospitality industry is a vital engine for job growth and sustainment—and with partnerships like this it is also becoming an increasingly important partner in our nation’s security. Security is a shared responsibility and each of us has a role to play in helping to keep America safe.

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"If You See Something, Say Something™" Public Service Announcements
"Si Ve Algo, Diga Algo™" Anuncios de Servicio Público en Español

About the Campaign

In July 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), at Secretary Janet Napolitano's direction, launched a national "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign –a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism and violent crime, and to emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper state and local law enforcement authorities. The campaign was originally used by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which has licensed the use of the slogan to DHS for anti-terrorism and anti-crime efforts.

 

A critical element of the DHS mission is ensuring that the civil rights and civil liberties of persons are not diminished by our security efforts, activities, and programs. Consequently, the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign respects civil rights or civil liberties by emphasizing behavior, rather than appearance, in identifying suspicious activity.

Factors such as race, ethnicity, national origin, or religious affiliation alone are not suspicious. For that reason, the public should report only suspicious behavior and situations (e.g., an unattended backpack in a public place or someone trying to break into a restricted area) rather than beliefs, thoughts, ideas, expressions, associations, or speech unrelated to terrorism or other criminal activity. Only reports that document behavior reasonably indicative of criminal activity related to terrorism will be shared with federal partners.

 

 

The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign is being launched in conjunction with the rollout of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) (PDF, 2 pages - 545 KB). The NSI is an administration-wide effort to develop, evaluate, and implement common processes and policies for gathering, documenting, processing, analyzing, and sharing information about terrorism-related suspicious activities. Led by the Department of Justice, the NSI is implemented in partnership with state and local officials across the nation.

Both the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign and the NSI underscore the concept that homeland security begins with hometown security, where an alert public plays a critical role in keeping our nation safe.

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Our Campaign Partnerships