City of Frederick , Maryland
OPERATION SAFEGUARD
TAXI-CAB BASE
OWNERS-OPERATORS
As described in the accompanying letter, Operation SAFEGUARD is based on the idea that certain legitimate businesses and industries may be unknowingly exploited by terrorists who portray themselves as honest customers seeking to purchase, lease or somehow appropriate certain material, licenses and/or services to covertly further a terrorist plot.
The following may be general indicators of potential terrorist planning or activities. Alone each indicator can result from legitimate recreational or commercial activities or criminal activity not related to terrorism; however, multiple indicators combined with other information can possibly suggest a terrorist threat.
- Physical surveillance, which may include note taking or the use of binoculars, cameras or maps near key facilities.
- Attempts to gain sensitive information regarding key facilities or personnel through personal contact or by telephone, mail or e-mail.
- Attempts to penetrate or test physical security and response procedures at key facilities.
- Attempts to improperly acquire explosives, weapons, ammunition, dangerous chemicals, flight manuals or other materials that could be used in a terrorist attack.
- Suspicious or improper attempts to acquire official vehicles, uniforms, badges, access cards or identification for key facilities.
- Presence of individuals who do not appear to belong in the workplace, business establishment or near a key facility.
- Behavior which appears to denote planning for terrorist activity, such as mapping out routes, playing out scenarios, monitoring key facilities and timing traffic flow or signals.
- Stockpiling suspicious materials or abandoning potential containers for explosives (e.g., vehicles or suitcases).
The following examples of activity relating to a Taxi-Cab Base, though not fully inclusive, may be of possible concern to law enforcement:
· Inordinate or unusual attention paid by a passenger to sensitive locations that do not typically generate attention (i.e., unusual questions about power plants, water treatments plants, etc.).
· Videotaping or photographing of critical infrastructure that has no apparent aesthetic appeal (i.e., a chain link fence surrounding a subway transformer station or reservoir).
· Videotaping or photographing the areas immediately surrounding an airport that correlates with low flying flight paths of departing and arriving aircraft.
· Unusual questions or statements about security measures at, around, associated or linked to critical infrastructure locations.
· Unusual questions about a special event (i.e., parade, street festival, etc.) scheduled to take place at a specific location and the “type” or “profile” of spectators attracted to the event; strange or ominous statements made about an event or location.
· Passengers with unusual packages (i.e., boxes with wires protruding, unusual substances leaking, greasy marks on wrapping, unusual smell, etc.).
· Passengers who appear to take measures to conceal or obscure their identity, appearance or facial characteristics.
· Applications to your company for employment as a driver by individual(s) who submit identification documents of questionable authenticity (i.e., home address is represented as a P.O. Box; no telephone number; misspellings on “official documents”; different names on license and passport).
Your impressions and assessment based upon your professional business experience are extremely valuable and should help guide you in determining if a customer request, a fact pattern or set of circumstances is unusual. Please remember that the conduct itself does not have to be criminal per se for you to report it to the Frederick Police Department. We may be contacted 24-hours a day, seven days a week by calling:
301-600-2100
SGT Dennis K. Dudley
Planning Division
Frederick Police Department
301-600-1206 (Office)
301-600-2082 (FAX)