Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team

A Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team, sometimes Visible Intermodal Protection and Response (VIPR, or VIPER) is a Transportation Security Administration

Transportation Security Administration

The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....

program. Various government sources have differing descriptions of VIPR's exact mission. It is specifically authorized by which says that the program is to "augment the security of any mode of transportation at any location within the United States". Authority for the program is under the Secretary of Homeland Security. The program falls under TSA's Office of Law Enforcement. TSA OLE shares responsibility for the program with the Office of Security Operations and TSNM.

The VIPR teams detain and search citizens at railroad stations, bus stations, ferries, car tunnels, ports, subways, truck weigh stations, rest areas, and special events. They also can deploy to deal with CBRNE/WMD

Weapons of mass destruction

A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...

(chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear, and explosive weapons of mass destruction) They also do inspections of ships, containers, and vehicles.

History

The GAO says VIPR was prompted by the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The program started up in December 2005. The program was first created to work in a "non-aviation environment". Bad initial planning caused "strained relations" with local law enforcement.. In July 2007 VIPR teams carried out controversial operations in several cities for the holiday weekend (see below). In June 2007 VIPR began working in "aviation environments". In 2007 TSA reported there had been 84 missions in 18 months. As of 2011 TSA was conducting about 8,000 VIPR operations per year.

Notable special events they have worked include the Presidential Inauguration

Presidential Inauguration

A Presidential Inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. To see detailed information on specific presidents, see the links below:* Brazilian presidential inauguration* Croatian presidential inauguration...

, the Special Olympics

Special Olympics

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....

, the Democratic National Convention

Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

, NFL games and others.

Purpose

Different sources provide different statements of purpose for the VIPR teams. Here are a few definitions given by various sources, most of them government officials:

Augmentation

"augment the security of any mode of transportation at any location within the United States."
"These teams serve as a kind of force multiplier for transit agency security efforts."
"to develop the capability to enhance security outside of aviation"
"[enhance] agency resources during special events."
"augment local law enforcement agencies"

Presence & detection

"provide a random, announced, high-visibility surge into a transit agency"
"[provide] an increased visible deterrent force for all modes of transportation for homeland security."
"provid[e] a visible, unpredictable presence in a mass transit environment."
"[help] create a calm atmosphere and sense of overall protection by their overt presence and coordination."
"[work] seamlessly with local law enforcement to provide deterrent presence and detection capabilities, and an unpredictable layer of security"
"highly-visible operation to help detect and deter any suspicious or dangerous activity in various modes of transportation."
"to covertly detect potential criminal terrorist pre-attack surveillance and other suspicious activity"

Terrorism and emergencies

"to patrol aviation, rail and marine facilities nationwide as a counterterrorism measure"
"[develop] interagency response tactics in the event of a terrorist attack"
"enhance the coordination of local and federal agencies during an emergency."
"[prepare] to respond to a large scale incident such as, a terrorist attack or natural disaster"

Miscellany

"To sort of invent the wheel in advance in case we have to, if there ever is specific intelligence requiring us to be here, this way us and our partners are ready to move in at a moments notice"
"What we're looking for are threats to national security as well as immigration law violators"
"We're also looking at one of our main initiatives, which is [unintelligble] cash smuggling"
"seek out illicit radiological sources that may present a threat to the public."
"ship boarding and inspection; container/cargo inspection; port employee vehicle inspection checkpoints; and vehicle inspection checkpoints for truck and passenger vehicles"
"VIPR teams are an essential part of protecting highway transportation vehicles and other critical infrastructures."
X-ray trucks for "explosives, weapons, anything unusual", "radiation, explosives, and drugs". Perform "safety inspections"

Components

Personnel may include the following:

Federal air marshals
Federal Air Marshal Service
The Federal Air Marshal Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security...

(including covert, plainclothes)
Surface Transportation Security Inspectors
Transportation Security Officers (Screeners)
Behavior Detection Officers
Explosives Detection Canine Teams
Aviation security inspectors
Federal Security Director
Bomb Appraisal Officers
Transportation Security Inspectors
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agents
US Customs and Border Protection Officers
US Border Patrol
US Coast Guard
National Guard units
Local law enforcement agencies (Highway Patrol, Fire Marshal, police, etc)

Special tools may include

nuclear and radiological detection equipment
long range camera systems
helicopters (UH-60 Blackhawk)
emergency vehicles
reconnaissance aircraft
Coast Guard patrol boats
Mobile drive-through x-ray detection machine, for explosives, weapons, and drugs

VIPR team capabilities
group	Visiblity	Behavior Detection	Domain Familiarity	Arrest Authority	Explosives Detection	Screening
Transp. Sec. Inspectors	yes	some	yes	no	no	no
Transp. Sec. Officers	yes	some	some	no	no	yes
Behavior Detection Officers	yes	yes	some	no	no	yes
Federal Air Marshals	no (covert)	yes	some	yes	no	no
Canine teams	yes	some	yes	no	yes	no
Transit Police	yes	some	yes	yes	no	no

Budget

FY2009: $30 million, 10 VIPR teams

FY2010: increase of $50 million, for 15 surface transport VIPR teams

FY2012: $109 million

10 aviation teams
15 surface transport teams
12 new multi-modal teams

Critiques

Indianapolis bus searches 2007

In 2007 some Indianapolis bus passengers complained to representative Dan Burton

Dan Burton

Danny "Dan" Lee Burton is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving since 1983. He is a member of the Republican Party....

that TSA searches violated their civil liberties

Civil liberties

Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...

. Burton replied that Al Qaeda was interested in attacking buses and that the Global War on Terror was still on.

DHS Office of Inspector General report, 2008

This report studies problems at VIPR. It "identified concerns regarding chain of command, unclear missions, and insufficient communication". It noted progress, but said those issues were "undermining agency efforts to advance mass transit security."

It especially discussed the controversial July 4 2007 holiday weekend VIPR deployments. The TSA gave only short notice the local authorities about the VIPR plans, and did not consult them on the creation of those plans. This disrupted the plans that local authorities had created to deal with holiday traffic. Local transit officials had to work overtime accompanying VIPR teams unfamiliar with local systems such as rail stations; TSA did not reimburse local groups for this overtime expense. TSA also compromised the anonymity, and thus safety, of Air Marshals by requiring them to wear clothing identifying themselves as Federal Air Marshals. VIPR deployments also caused tensions with transit officials and police unions. After these incidents, TSA tried to improve it's communication, including setting up a Joint Coordination Center.

The report also mentions a letter in which the National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association described the VIPR exercises as “clearly a waste of scarce Federal Air Marshal
resources."

DHS Office of Inspector General report, 2009

This report focused on the role of Surface Transportation Security Inspectors on VIPR teams. It pointed out that TSI's were 'underutilized' and their contribution to the VIPR operations was unclear.

House Appropriations Committee Report 111-157, 2009

The US Congress House Appropriations Committee wrote a report in September 2009 regarding the Department of Homeland Security. It included a section on VIPR. It specifically quoted from the two DHS Inspector General reports listed above.

The report also noted that TSA had failed to prepare a report on the "performance standards to measure the success of its VIPR teams in detecting and disrupting terrorism", as it had been directed to by Congress previously. The committee also reject TSA's request for more funding for rail inspectors because TSA had failed to hire people to fill it's currently allocated inspector positions.

Savannah incident - Amtrak temporarily bans VIPR teams, 2011

In early 2011, a TSA VIPR detained and patted down people at an Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

station in Savannah

Savannah

Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...

, Georgia. The incident became rather controversial. According to Trains magazine, Amtrak Police Chief John O'Connor described the TSA behavior as illegal, and in violation of Amtrak policy. The incident led Amtrak to temporarily ban VIPR teams from Amtrak property.

External Links

Video entitled "TSA harassing and searching a 9 year old, from the Savannah Amtrak station incident of 2011. From Youtube, retrieved May 2011
Video entitled "Homeland Security VIPER Teams Hit Tampa Florida Bus, Train Stations, February 16, 2010 - ABC ActionNews Tampa, Bill Logan. Via Youtube, May 2011