High-Visibility Transit Checks Help Deter Potential Problems

While the Transportation Security Administration regularly conducts checks of passengers using mass transit, doing so on the anniversary of 9/11 is not a coincidence.

"We perform checks throughout the year on various dates, but coming out on 9/11 is important because bad guys are cognizant of anniversary dates," said Edward Rooney, local TSA assistant federal security director, law enforcement.

Rooney and his TSA agents were at the Sturtevant Amtrak depot Wednesday to perform random checks of passenger bags and carry-ons as part of Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR). This is the seventh year the agency has worked with Sturtevant police, and Chief Sean Marschke said the partnership is going well.

"Local police are necessary because the TSA doesn't have law enforcement authority so if any contraband is discovered, we take custody of those items," he said. "This is a great example of how federal and local jurisdictions can work well together."

Rooney was clear about not having any intelligence that indicates an attack on mass transit was expected Wednesday, but instead the checks were more of a prudent and proactive approach.

"Mass transit and rail are the second-highest target for potential terror attacks," he added. "Aviation remains the number one target so being out here for 9/11 is prudent."

As for what they were looking for, Rooney said unlike on airlines, there isn't a prohibited items list for train travel except for explosives and firearms.

"But, if we find something illegal like a switchblade or a taser, then we turn it over to local police," he said.

If anyone refuses to having their bag or other items searched, they are not allowed to board the train.

Agents set up a table with a sign - another notice was posted inside the depot building - to alert passengers of the possibility of being searched. While Patch was at the depot for the 8:28 a.m. Hiawatha service to Chicago, agents searched the carry-ons of 23 passengers, all of which turned up nothing suspicious.

Through VIPR, the TSA conducts checks of all air traffic; general, commercial and cargo. The agency also oversees the security of all surface travel, too; mass transit, passenger rail, highway/infrastructure, maritime (including, for example, the ferries out of Milwaukee and Manitowoc), freight trains, and pipelines.