Glenn Norling on Political Event Security

There is an extraordinary amount of planning and resources that the Secret Service and other partners put into the national political conventions and other significant national events, known as National Special Security Events.

• Certainly, Saturday’s incident points to gaps that need to be closed, and this is something that is being discussed extensively as part of Milwaukie’s final preparations as the Republican National Convention begins.
• Establishing communications pathways across multiple agencies to receive, share and be able to act on information quickly is always a challenge. Being able to react to what is called actionable intelligence is key to recognizing and prioritizing potential threats.
• Outdoor events as well as moving from location to location always pose challenges, and not surprisingly, often don’t receive the number of resources the larger events do, but the details matter just as much.
  • Think of a building with state-of-the art security systems, but there is one door that is continuously propped open, to make the workday easier.

Now, the best systems will alert when the system is compromised in that way, but that is not always the case, and the result can be catastrophic.

• It’s important for everyone to recognize that regardless of where they are, they need to HAVE A PLAN should an emergency occur.
  • It is easy to get distracted by large events and also when traveling to new places, so it is critically important to make sure that you have a plan together for you, and for your family and friends as well.

We all have to be proactive to keep ourselves safe, and my three best pieces of advice are:

1. Don’t convince yourself that ‘it won’t happen here’. This is simply not true.
2. Have a Plan and be ready to decisively act on that plan in an emergency.
3. If you see or hear something concerning or suspicious (including online) – say something!