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Post by Shadow on Dec 18, 2005 13:17:04 GMT -5
Prison PlanetOfficials Confused Over Test of Air Marshals at Transit Hubs; Metro Not in Program Washington Post/Sara Kehaulani Goo | December 15 2005 Just two days into an experimental program that would place undercover air marshals in train, bus, ferry and other mass transit stations, the Transportation Security Administration yesterday said its test has been scaled back, owing to confusion over the rollout. TSA officials had planned to deploy teams of air marshals, local law enforcement officers and bomb-sniffing dogs at seven locations around the nation this week to test whether the agency could deter criminals in public transportation stations and conduct surveillance of suspicious activity. Yesterday, local officials at some of the locations -- including Washington's Metro system -- said they were not participating in the program, and at least one other appeared not to have been informed. "We didn't think we'd have enough time with this idea," said Sgt. Monica Hunter, spokeswoman for the Washington State Patrol. Hunter added that the state police would like to work with TSA in the future, but "it's not something we'd want to rush into." TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark also said the air marshal teams, known as "Viper," for Visible Intermodal Protection and Response, would not be present in the Washington Metro system. "That was our oversight," she said, adding that a Viper team has been deployed to patrol Union Station on Amtrak but not the Metro. "I think there was some confusion about who was responsible for the Union Station piece."
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