Protecting our Subways

My prayers and thoughts are with the victims of today’s shooting in the New York City subway system. Sadly, terrorists have successfully targeted subway systems in the past. The large volumes of people who traverse through major transportation hubs each day make for an attractive target. Subway facilities are often overcrowded, particularly during peak times, making it virtually impossible to screen every passenger entering the station. In today’s attack in Brooklyn, it is clear that subways and trains continue to be viable targets for terrorists and others with nefarious intentions. I am still in awe of how the men and women of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) are able to handle everything that is asked of them.

?I am proud to have served the NYPD for 28 years. Although I performed many different assignments over the years, one of my favorite assignments was when I was the Commanding Officer of Transit District Two, which covered Manhattan from Midtown to Battery Park.?I was proud to be associated with a department that is considered among the best in the world when it comes to policing strategies and counterterrorism strategies. As an organization, the NYPD is versatile as well as proactive to police New York City effectively. The NYPD Transit Bureau is tasked with keeping the NYC subway system safe.

The New York City Subway, operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, moves approximately five million passengers each day. There are 472 stations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The system runs above ground, below ground, through tunnels, and over bridges along 840 miles of track. The system currently has over 6,000 subway cars that are in use each day, making the NYC subway system one of the largest systems in the world. Attacks on rail systems around the world and the desire for terrorists to target New York City as they have done several times in the past make the NYC Subway System a substantial target for radicalized individuals or groups to cause and inflict terror in a variety of ways.

?The New York City Police Department’s Transit Bureau has several strategic layers to protect and patrol the NYC subway system. As a former Commander in the New York City Transit Bureau, it was a daunting task to understand how Transit Police Officers work and collaborate with other law enforcement agencies to reduce crime, keep people safe, and lessen the possibility of a terrorist attack. In its mission statement, the NYPD Transit Bureau pledges to ensure the safety and order of all persons riding the transit system and reduce fear and apprehension of the riding public. Although vague by nature, the mission statement is carried out by over 2,500 Police Officers who are assigned to the Transit Bureau. These officers deter crime, enforce quality of life conditions, and stand tall for hours at a time on station platforms and on moving trains. Also, they must be able to identify suspicious packages, investigate unattended articles, and determine promptly whether or not to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people and close off an entire station.

To understand the need to create additional layers of security in transportation facilities with a primary focus on subways and trains, it is important to review past acts of terrorism that have occurred on transit systems throughout the world. Terrorists will always view transportation hubs as an easy target to cause mass casualties and inflict economic damage. In response to terrorists’ crude and brutal tactics, the primary mission of law enforcement agencies must always be to create innovative and proactive methods to secure locations where large groups assemble. According to a March 2004 report by RAND, between 1998 and 2003, there were over 180 attacks on trains and related rail targets such as depots, ticket stations, and rail bridges worldwide.?There have been over two dozen major rail attacks since 1995 that have claimed the lives of 801 people and injured more than 10,239. Some of the most significant attacks were:?????????????????????????????????????????

·?????March 20, 1995, Tokyo, Japan- In the only known chemical attack on a transportation facility that resulted in multiple fatalities, sarin gas was dispensed at five different intervals on trains traveling through the system. Twelve people were killed, 50 suffered severe injuries, and approximately 5,000 more suffered mild to moderate injuries. According to a United States subcommittee, if the sarin gas were released more efficiently, the results would have been catastrophic. A cult movement known as Aum Ahinrikyo was responsible for the attack. Also, investigators proved that members were responsible for a smaller sarin gas attack the previous year. An attack of this magnitude is an example of the importance to identify, analyze, and create new strategies to prevent or mitigate a future attack.

·?????August 10, 2001, Dondo, Angola. A group identified as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) rebels placed an anti-tank mine on the tracks, which caused the train to derail. Rebels then attacked civilians with firearms resulting in 250 deaths and over 500 injured. In “A Practitioner’s Way Forward,” UNITA adopted the instrumental approach to achieve its means. Their approach is the ability to achieve a set of objectives. UNITA is one of the only terrorist organizations that met its objectives to become a viable part of a country’s government.

·?????September 10, 2002, Rafiganj, India. A deliberate act of sabotage caused a high-speed Rajdhani Express train to derail while crossing over a bridge high above the Dhave River. Two of the train cars were completely dislodged and fell into the river, and several people were thrown into the river from the force of the initial impact. An accurate death toll is unknown, but it is estimated to be between 130 and 200 people. There were divergent statements from government officials. Most believe that this was a case of sabotage, and as a result, a commission was assembled to conduct an in-depth analysis, including an investigation into possible sabotage. There is still an ongoing debate as to whether or not there was intent to cause the Rafiganj Express train to derail. While the evidence in this incident was inconclusive, all of the evidence shows that an intentional act of sabotage on a high-speed train can be equally effective, if not more effective, than an explosive device.

·?????March 11, 2004, Madrid, Spain.?A planned and coordinated attack resulted in the death of 191 people, and more than 1,800 were injured. During the height of the morning rush, individuals placed ten backpacks containing improvised explosive devices on four packed trains, intending to detonate them simultaneously. These individuals were part of an Islamic fundamentalist group with ties to Al Qaeda.?During the investigation, police searched a van that was believed to be the van used in the attacks. Inside of the van was an audiotape with passages from the Koran in Arabic. The translation of the audio recording was chilling. It stated, “We declare our responsibility for what happened in Madrid exactly two-and-a-half years after the attacks on New York and Washington. It is a response to your collaboration with the criminals, Bush, and his allies. This is a response to the crimes you have caused in the world, and specifically in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there will be more, if God wills it. You love life, and we love death, which gives an example of what the Prophet Muhammad said. If you don’t stop your injustices, more and more blood will flow, and these attacks will seem very small compared to what can occur in what you call terrorism.” Their statement is more than a warning. It is a rallying cry to radicalize those willing to die for a cause.

·?????July 7, 2005, London, United Kingdom. A total of four explosions detonated during what has become known as the 7/7 attacks. Three of those four explosions occurred underground, resulting in 42 deaths and over 680 persons injured. Suicide bombers detonated the bombs, and the explosive devices were concealed in backpacks. It appeared that the bombers expected to survive their attacks, based on the post-investigation, which revealed that there were additional explosive devices found in the suspects’ vehicle and the fact that all of the suspects bought round trip tickets. Following the attacks, a message called on all Muslims to stage a holy war to kill Americans and their allies. The five individuals that committed these acts demonstrated how easy it is to penetrate law enforcement and closed-circuit television (CCTV).

·?????July 11, 2006, Mumbai, India. A coordinated attack that consisted of seven separate explosions from pressure cooker devices claimed the lives of 209 people and injured more than 700. During the evening rush hour, each explosive device detonated minutes apart along Mumbai’s western line. Terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Qahhar claimed responsibility for the bombings. This act of brutality is the result of domestic terrorism to wage support against the suppression of Muslim minorities.?It took several years, but in September 2015, twelve people connected to the bombings were convicted and sentenced to death. In addition, there were seven others involved in the preparation and bomb-making were sentenced to life in prison. A coordinated attack on the transportation rail system in the United States would have a reverberating effect on the egress and ingress within a transportation facility such as Pennsylvania Station in New York City.

Creating a multi-prong approach to hardening transportation hubs is essential to preventing or mitigating an attack. conducted an in-depth analysis of each attack to determine the root cause better and gain a better understanding of the planning and execution of each attack. The following represents a breakdown of documented rail attacks around the world since 1995:

·?????Since 1995, thirty-three acts committed against rail systems around the world were analyzed. India had the most attacks against their system with 14. Russia had six attacks, of which three have been within the last eight years. The United States of America had one intentional act of sabotage involving an Amtrak Train in Palo Verde, Arizona, on October 9, 1995. One person was killed, and 78 people were injured. According to the FBI, no arrests have been made in this attack, but notes found near the crime scene pointed to domestic terrorism.

·?????From 1995 to 2000, there were six attacks on passenger rails. Fifty percent of those attacks happened during a 17-month period, and two of those attacks were carried out in France by the Armed Islamic Group (AIG) of Algeria. From 2000 to 2005, there were 12 attacks on transit systems, and this is the highest five-year period in recent history. Nearly half of all attacks happened during this time. Eight out of the 12 attacks occurred in India (5) or Russia (3). In India, most of the attacks were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant organization based in Pakistan. They view the world as oppressive to Muslims, and their goal is to establish an Islamic caliphate in India. Fifty percent of the attacks over the last twenty-three years happened in March and December (six attacks each month). July had five attacks, and surprisingly, there were no attacks in June.

·?????Three out of the last four attacks have been carried out by the Islamic State (IS). In the previous thirteen months, four attacks have been carried out in four different cities. In March of 2016, a suicide bomber took his own life inside of the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels in what was a coordinated attack in multiple locations in Belgium. Four months later, in July 2016, an Afghan refugee claimed allegiance to Islamic State before stabbing numerous people on a moving train in Wurzburg, Germany. In March 2017, an individual detonated an explosive device on a passenger train in Pradesh, India. Although there we no fatalities, there is a grave concern that Islamic State-inspired attacks are happening in more countries throughout the world. The most recent attack occurred in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on April 3, 2017. A briefcase bomb detonated on a moving train killing 14 people and injuring 64. In this attack, an additional briefcase containing explosives was found at a nearby station. The initial explosion killed the perpetrator, and he was identified as 22-year-old Akbarjon Djalilov, a known Russian National.

·?????25 (76%) out of 33 attacks resulted from an improvised explosive device.?The second biggest threat was five (15%) incidents in which trains were intentionally derailed off of their tracks. Most attacks occurred on the train (54%), whereas 30 percent of attacks happened inside of the station. Although there is an increase in attacks with firearms and knives, this trend has not spread to trains and subways. Six out of the last seven attacks on trains and subways resulted from an improvised explosive device.

My hope is that New York City will be free from future terror acts and other acts of violence, however, I know that there will always be people that wish to do our great city and its people harm. I appreciate the NYPD and all men and women who keep New York City safe and who always respond with courage and heroism when New Yorkers need them most.

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