Oregon joins holiday message: If You See Something, Say Something

If You See Something, Say Something. That’s the hallmark slogan of a nationwide campaign launched by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative. Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management recently partnered with DHS to support the “If You See Something, Say Something(TM)” public awareness initiative.

OEM encourages everyone this holiday season be watchful in any event or gathering with crowds, at airports and at shopping malls. Report suspicious activity to local law enforcement or call 9-1-1. Suspicious activity might be a vehicle parked in an odd location, an unattended backpack or unusual attention to facilities or buildings beyond a casual or professional interest.

“Informed and alert Individuals play an important role in keeping our communities safe,” says OEM Director Andrew Phelps. “We want to remind people to pay attention to their surroundings — during the holiday season and throughout the year — and report suspicious activity to local law enforcement or call 9-1-1.”

The “If You See Something, Say Something(TM)” campaign–originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign–is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime to the proper law enforcement authorities.

The Department launched the “If You See Something, Say Something(TM)” campaign in conjunction with the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative — an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism and terrorism-related crime; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and ensure the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation and fusion centers for analysis.

OEM is promoting the initiative with other state agency partners including the Oregon State Police, Oregon State Fire Marshal, Oregon Fusion Center and Oregon Military Department.