See Something - Do Nothing?

Yesterday the nation was captivated by breaking news about three young women and a child who escaped captivity after being kidnapped about 10 years ago. There is some controversy now about whether community residents took notice of suspicious activity and called police. A Chicago Tribune report discusses this issue in which some conflict exists as to whether anyone had information which could have led to earlier police action to free the victims. This brings to mind the tragic and popular March 1964 story of Kitty Genovese who was stabbed and sexually assaulted near her Queens, NY apartment building while multiple bystanders took no action help her. The correlation to Cleveland is not too far of a stretch. There is a field of academic study on situations such as this. Social scientists call this the Bystander Affect which, in summary, suggests that in times of a crisis, the more people present will result in less people taking action for a number of reasons including a diffusion of responsibility (when more are present) and behaving in a socially acceptable way (when less people are present).

The connection to homeland security and emergency management comes when we look at today's efforts to have the public participate in security by serving as observers and reporters. The  See Something Say Something program which began in New York has gone national in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Considering the Bystander Effect, a question comes to mind as to whether we can rely on the public to say something if they see something or simply see something and do nothing. There is some data out there which shows that while numerous calls are made to terror tip hotlines, See Something Say Something has led to zero terrorist arrests.  Is that the only metric in which to gauge the program? I would add that calls regarding suspicious packages such as an unattended backpack on a subway platform, is a valuable metric. Then we can add a separate indicator as to what the outcome of the call and investigation was. Was the suspicious package an explosive device or just some kid's school books? Let me turn to the Boston terrorist bombings. It is unclear whether the public would have had enough reaction time even if someone saw the backpacks, however, this incident should serve as a stark reminder of how valuable saying something if you see something can be. The street vendor who reported a suspicious auto in Times Square in May 2010 is an example of someone seeing something and saying something.

We all have a role in public safety and security. In the wake of the Boston bombings and with the Cleveland incident in mind, we need to amplify our efforts to enlist the help of the public in reporting suspicious activity and suspicious packages. While I am not suggesting a siege mentality, the reality is that security and law enforcement assets are reliant upon good information. That information comes from an aware, informed and, participating citizenry.

Steven Kuhr
Emergency Management Nexus
skuhr.blogspot.com
facebook.com/EMNexus
twitter.com/Steven_Kuhr
#EMNexus

Personal Preparedness 2.0

With the weather hazards of spring and summer upon us, hurricane season approaching, and with the ever present risk of terrorism and technical hazards, it seems like a good time to evaluate personal preparedness.  There have been many programs and much written over the past decade or so ago about personal preparedness.  Programs such as the DHS Ready website offer suggestions for making family emergency plans, assembling emergency kits, and storing emergency supplies.  The theme has typically been preparedness for 72 hours.  However, is 72 hours adequate?  In writing this piece let us assume that we all understand what belongs in a typical emergency kit such as canned food, flashlights, and a weather radio.  Having these items are crucial to lessening the hardships of disasters and in some cases actually increase the chance of survival in truly major events.  I would argue however, that 72 hours is insufficient especially in a catastrophic event which has affected multiple regions and a large population base.  In cases such as wide area earthquakes and hurricanes, or perhaps a mega-tornado swarm affecting multiple areas, perhaps even multiple states, government resources at all levels with be taxed as time continues to demonstrate.  While incidents such as these may seem rare, we need only look at recent major hurricanes and earthquakes to see that individuals need to be prepared for a greater period of time.  With this in mind, it would appear that a seven to ten day model of preparedness might be in order.  This can be accomplished by amplifying what we have in our 72 hours kits, especially for food items, water, medications and batteries.

It also seems logical to discuss personal preparedness in today’s high tech world.  The ready.wherever checklists generally do not discuss technology that may be at your fingertips for those of us with iO and Android smart phones, tablets and the like.  While I realize that the use of technology requires that infrastructure such as electrical, landline, and cellular systems remain operational, there are many tools in the technology tool box that you can have for immediate use.  While none of the suggestions below should be considered a commercial endorsement, here is a brief list of tech tools which you may find useful in disasters:

• Subscriber based Alerts – Be sure to subscribe to emergency alerts which may be available in your area.  These systems are generally managed by local emergency management agencies.    As a side note, smart phone users can expect government non-subscriber based Wireless Emergency Alerts for urgent weather alerts such as flood and tornado warnings which are intended to encourage users to take protective actions.

• Weather Apps – The use of NOAA Weather Radios are essential during significant weather events.  A number of apps exist which allow you to monitor NOAA National Weather Service Offices and their alerts.  A number of commercial weather apps are also available from our friends at The Weather Channel, Accu-Weather, Weather Underground and more, which provide timely and accurate information along with weather graphics.  Many also offer push alerting capability which allows you to receive weather watches and warnings.  There are also a number of radar apps which provide actionable information for emergency managers. 

• Flashlight apps – There are a number of flashlight apps which turn the phone’s light into a fairly intense beam.  Some of these apps also allow you to set various settings such as strobe light or flashing light type setting which can be used for safety or alerting.

• Communications Apps – The ability to communicate during a disaster is typically a challenge.  Today’s technology environment offers a number of options for voice and data communications.  For video chat and voice communications such as Voice over IP technology, apps such as Skype and Tango offer voice and video chat options.  The Google+ app also allows you to do a “Hangout” which is essentially a video chat.  The social media apps we use every day such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn also provide a number of communications options.  Whatsapp is a user friendly communications tool which allows text messaging over non-cellular based internet such as WiFi.  This means that if cellular systems are down and you are fortunate to have internet access this and a number of other apps will function.  A number of walkie-talkie apps such as Voxer offer push-to-talk voice communications.  

• Portable Energy – We all know how quickly our smart phones consume battery life.  Today’s emergency kits should also include a portable energy source for charging smart phones.  One simply needs to search for portable cellular charger to find a number of commercial options.

As with all apps, every app has its strengths and weaknesses. The use of some of these apps also require some planning such as ensuring that family members know to have video chat or walkie talkie apps turned on.  

Today’s high tech world offers a number of options which can help us navigate the difficulties of a major emergency or disaster.

Steven Kuhr

Emergency Management Nexus

skuhr.blogspot.com

facebook.com/EMNexus