FEMA Guide: Improving Your Community’s Awareness and Reporting of Suspicious Activity

A Resource Improve Your Community’s Awareness and Reporting Activity For Law Enforcement and Community Partners

52 pages

This guide offers recommendations for local outreach campaigns, explains how to effectively develop and disseminate messages in order to help the public better understand their role in reporting suspicious activity, and helps law enforcement agencies and community partners to understand, navigate, and use the many resources available to help build and sustain local efforts. New technologies, resources, and innovative practices highlighted within this document can be used to improve the education, communication, and trust amongst communities and law enforcement agencies who serve them. With the proper tools and knowledge, individuals and entire communities will help law enforcement agencies identify, investigate, and prevent crime and terrorism.

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Suspicious Activity Defined

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative defines suspicious activity as “observed behavior reasonably indicative of pre-operational planning related to terrorism or other criminal activity.” IACP’s primary research found that most individuals rely on a combination of factors when determining if an activity, behavior, or object is suspicious and merits reporting to the authorities. These factors are:

• Concern about the potential for harm to the community.
• Belief that the information may be useful to law enforcement.
• Personal observation of activities.
• Personal instinct.
• The agreement of others nearby that something isn’t right.

It is important to note that suspicious activity reports should not include factors such as race, ethnicity, national origin, or religious affiliation.

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• Tailor your message to include information about local threats. As a law enforcement or community leader, it is important to know what threats exist specific to your area. For example, consider any large dams, military bases, or bridges in your community. Your local emergency management office can tell you more about critical infrastructure concerns. By including information about local concerns into messaging, agencies can help residents better understand these issues and larger terrorist threats. Consider reaching out specifically to residents near local critical infrastructure to encourage them to partner in awareness efforts.

• Encourage business owners and managers to train employees. Front line employees such as maids, clerks, receptionists, and parking attendants often have the most interaction with the public and are among the first to be aware of suspicious activity. It is important to familiarize them with the types of industry-specific suspicious activities, behaviors, or objects that they may encounter. (See List 2 for Training Resources)

- Community policing or patrol officers, law enforcement volunteers, local chambers of commerce, and professional or trade associations can be effective resources for distributing this information to local businesses.

http://publicintelligence.net/fema-improving-sar-guide/