National Academies Press: OpenBook

Transit Security Preparedness (2020)

Chapter: Chapter 1 - Introduction

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Transit Security Preparedness. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25764.
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Page 4
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Transit Security Preparedness. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25764.
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Page 5

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4 C H A P T E R 1 Project Background and Objectives The objective of TCRP Synthesis Project J-7/Topic SA-48, “Transit Security Preparedness: Current Practices” was to identify current practices transit systems can use to enhance their security measures and to identify opportunities to apply security technology applications used in other industries to the transit environment. Public transportation systems have many challenges in transporting passengers and employees in a safe and secure manner every day. With an open infrastructure susceptible to both terrorist and criminal security incidents, public transportation agencies need effective security practices in place to protect employees, passengers, and infrastructure; deter and respond to events; effec- tively facilitate continuity of operations; and fully recover from events. This synthesis gathers information of current practices and security measures with a particu- lar focus on • Employee and customer awareness, including methods that allow both employees and transit riders to report suspicious activities. • Security presence, such as police, employees, messaging, and technology. • Partnerships with stakeholders, both internal and external, including first responders, munic- ipalities, and utilities. • Crime prevention through environmental design. Even though there are many similarities in operations and functions between larger and smaller transit agencies, one size does not fit all in the context of security. Larger agencies have more resources available to address security preparedness. Small or medium-sized transit agen- cies in particular lack actionable processes and solution sets specifically designed for agencies with more limited resources. This study distills the best of transit agency security practices and approaches to date and presents fundamental definitions, rationales, and scalable security guidance that can be deployed with reasonable effort to yield maximum return on time and investment for all sizes of transit systems. Technical Approach to Project The study approach used a literature review, a survey of transit agencies, and in-depth case examples to accomplish the project objective. A focused search and review of recent domestic and international research on transit security preparedness was done, with a focus on employee and customer awareness initiatives; security presence practices; partnerships, internal and external, with stakeholders; and crime prevention through environmental design approaches (CPTED). The analysis of the material reviewed considered the applicability, conclusiveness, Introduction

Introduction 5 and usefulness of the information. As part of the literature review, the current practices of transportation agencies in meeting their security preparedness responsibilities and require- ments were collected on the basis of available information. Sources for the literature review include Google, Google Scholar, and the Transportation Research International Documentation database—composed of the Transportation Research Information Services database and the International Transport Research Documentation database of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Joint Transport Research Centre—as the initial search engines for the online search of relevant research and resources. The team looked at both U.S. and non-U.S. results as part of the literature review. Transportation-specific sources included the published research reports from the NCHRP and TCRP programs; FHWA, FTA, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, and other federal agencies; APTA; and other transportation-related organizations. The study team conducted a survey with selected follow-up interviews to acquire a current understanding of existing security practices at transit agencies. The survey was distributed to transit agencies through an electronic survey tool. Periodic email reminders were sent out to nonrespondents to the survey, and when necessary, selected transit agencies were contacted by phone or in person to encourage participation in the survey. The results of the literature review and survey, along with additional outreach, were used to identify candidate organizations for case examples. The team sought out interesting illustrations of effective practices as well as identifiable shortcomings that have emerged. The study team used selection criteria that included effectiveness and overall impact in terms of reduction in risk to the agency and its transportation systems, transferability of the technology or approach to other transit agencies, mix of agency size and location, and overall relevance toward meeting the project objectives. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the synthesis, providing the project background and objec- tives, the technical approach to the project, and an overview of the report’s organization. Chapter 2 provides an overview of security preparedness, including definitions and the roles of the transit agency and federal, state, local, and other agencies in preparedness. Chapter 3 provides a summary of the literature review findings and contains the major elements of an effective transit security preparedness program as well as an overview of security preparedness practices in transit agencies. Chapter 4 contains the results of the transit agency survey conducted as part of this project. Chapter 5 provides a series of in-depth case examples of selected practices and approaches. Chapter 6 presents conclusions based on the synthesis investigations and suggestions for further study. References and a bibliography are included at the end of the report, along with a series of appendices that include a glossary, a list of transit agencies that participated in the survey, the survey questionnaire, and the detailed survey results.

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Sixty percent of the transit-industry practitioners surveyed rate their transit agency’s efforts to address their major security challenges as somewhat or very successful. However, only 25 percent say they have implemented any security-risk-reduction program that they consider to be exceptional or exemplary.

The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 146: Transit Security Preparedness identifies current practices transit systems can use to enhance their security measures and to identify opportunities to apply security technology applications used in other industries to the transit environment.

One size does not fit all in the context of transit security. However, there are common themes in all effective security preparedness approaches.

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