Staff Report
MONTGOMERY – Director Spencer Collier on Wednesday joins the federal government’s response to suspicious activity by touting the “If you See Something, Say Something” program.
Following a directive by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Director Collier wishes to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorist activities and to emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper law enforcement agencies.
“This initiative has already paid dividends to the nation and the state of Alabama,” Director Collier said. “Law enforcement officers rely on the tips from everyday citizens to report suspicious activity. The bottom line is this, if you feel that something is out of place in your environment, more than likely, you’re correct. If you see something, say something because homeland security starts with hometown security.”
The public should contact law enforcement via 9-1-1 when an immediate response is needed regarding suspicious activity for any type of crime including terrorism. Once that information is received, first responders and law enforcement officers are required to send these reports of suspicious activity to the Alabama Fusion Center.
As indicated in Governor Bentley’s Executive Order 13, the Alabama Fusion Center’s mission is to promote the collection, integration, and evaluation of information that has an effect on detecting and preventing criminal or terrorist related activity. Additionally, it serves as an intergovernmental bridge between federal, state, local and private entities to promote collaboration and information sharing between law enforcement agencies throughout the state.
According to the Fusion Center Director Joe Davis, “Over 80% of the planned terrorist attacks since 9/11 have been stopped as a direct result of citizens who saw something unusual and reported the suspicious activity to the proper authorities. It’s always appropriate to report suspicious activity to local law enforcement because they are in the best position to investigate and take immediate action. When this is not possible, our web site provides links and information regarding how citizens, private sector security personnel, first responders and other stakeholders can report suspicious activity.”
Alabama citizens should provide criminal or terrorist related tips to their local law enforcement agencies. These tips will be investigated locally and then reported by law enforcement to the Alabama Fusion Center. However, citizens may also provide an anonymous tip directly to the Fusion Center at fusion.alabama.gov under the Public Awareness tab.
