For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
Los Angeles—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today joined AEG President and CEO Timothy J. Leiweke at the company's STAPLES Center to announce the expansion of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign to stadiums, arenas, theatres, clubs, convention centers and other venues owned by or affiliated with AEG Facilities—a division of Los Angeles-based AEG—in an effort to help ensure safety and security of the American public.
"Every citizen plays a role in identifying and reporting suspicious activities and threats," said Secretary Napolitano. "Expanding the 'If You See Something, Say Something™' campaign to AEG's network of venues across the country is an important part of our efforts to engage the public and ensure the safety of players, fans and concertgoers."
The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign—originally implemented by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.
The new "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign partnership with AEG will be launched today at select AEG owned or affiliated venues across the country including:
- STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia , El Rey Theatre and L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, Calif.;
- The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.;
- Best Buy Theater in New York City;
- Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, Texas;
- Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas;
- Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.;
- FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.; and
- Target Center in Minneapolis.
DHS and AEG will continue to expand the campaign—which includes both print and digital materials—to additional venues in the coming months.
Over the past nine months, DHS has worked with its federal, state, local and private sector partners, as well as the Department of Justice, to expand the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative—an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and expand and enhance the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DHS—to communities throughout the country.
Partnerships with the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign have recently been launched by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL), as well as in several states including Colorado, Minnesota and New Jersey, more than 9,000 federal buildings nationwide, Walmart, Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Amtrak, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the general aviation industry, and state and local fusion centers across the country. Earlier this month, Secretary Napolitano unveiled the "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness video, available here.
In the coming months, DHS will continue to expand the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign nationally to help America's business, communities and citizens remain vigilant and play an active role in keeping the country safe.
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