SOFT-TARGET PROTECTIONSoftware Suite Will Bolster Defenses for Soft Targets

Anyone who has ever gone to a major sporting event or concert, taken public transportation, even visited a farmer’s market on a brisk weekend morning, has likely benefitted from soft-target physical security—and perhaps didn’t even know it. This type of public safety precaution can take many forms, from blocked off roads with concrete barriers to checkpoints with metal detectors. It is an important part of protecting people every day as they go about their lives, as well as our community infrastructure, but it can be a serious challenge.

The Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) says it is continuously working to equip those within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in charge of securing soft targets with enhanced detection methods. Officials require the means to identify potential threats concealed in vehicles, on people, and in their belongings—while still maintaining personal privacy and not causing excessive disturbance to events or venues. S&T is developing layered and integrated capabilities for all of DHS that meet this public safety need. This includes a suite of decision-support software known as Special Event Planning Tools (SEPT).

“SEPT will be used to conduct security assessments and lead to a more comprehensive development for physical security planning,” explained Ali Fadel, S&T Soft Targets Security program manager. “The portal will reside behind a secure gateway and incorporate Personal Identity Verification access that will be available to all authorized users throughout DHS. The development is a modification of existing Department of Defense tools that have been adapted for use in civilian soft target and crowded place environments.”

SEPT is designed for Special Event Assessment Rating events level three through five, which require state and local support. (Event organizers submit details about their event to the DHS Office of Operations Coordination, which runs the analysis to determine the event rating.) DHS personnel and their regional protective security advisors will use SEPT to help local event organizers plan physical security for their event. The SEPT software suite was developed in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and consists of both standalone and integrated risk mitigation applications that will assist public safety officials in making large-scale events as safe as possible.