Florida bus drivers to receive anti-terror training
DHS spends a lot of money on air traffic safety; it also has a program to train bus drivers in anti-terrorism tactics, and Florida takes advantage of it
If you are in the business of training personnel in anti-terror methodologies, you may have had VIP-ptoection types take your classes, perhaps a few pilots. Now there is a new pool of potential students: Bus drivers. What is more, DHS may pay for it, too. In evidence: Central Florida’s bus system is spending nearly $1 million to train its drivers and other staff on how to spot terrorists and other bad guys. A recent $908,000 grant from DHS will allow Orlando, Florida-based Lynx to give all 1,000 employees lessons in terrorism awareness and emergency response.
The program is the latest of several measures the Florida bus agency has initiated with the help of DHS grants. Already, the bus passenger sitting next to you may well be an undercover security officer; the car following your bus might be an unmarked police car; and four cameras are recording everything on and around each bus.
The latest training money comes from a $14 million pool of DHS funds earmarked for counterterrorism training in ten cities, including Orlando, Miami, Dallas, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Portland, Oregon. After focusing on larger cities with mass-transportation systems, DHS wanted to make sure the next tier of cities is better prepared. That is especially important in cities with many visitors and public events. “We don’t want to put all resources in one area,” said Lee Kair, federal security director of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in Orlando. “Because of its visibility, you want Orlando involved.”
The details of the training course are yet to be worked out, but Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary has offered to help bring in Israeli defense experts who have devised counterterrorism techniques for that country’s public transit.
