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Georgia Public Transit Security Improved, Panel Told

Posted on: Friday, 29 July 2005, 00:00 CDT

Jul. 28--Georgia's top homeland security and anti-terrorism experts told a state Senate committee Wednesday they have beefed up public safety measures in the state's public transportation network and plan to continue those efforts.

"Everything suggests we'll be in this war -- and that's what it is --- for a long time," said Mike Sherberger, director of the Office of Homeland Security/Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA). "We have to think long-term."

Gene Wilson, chief of the MARTA Police Department, outlined the agency's recent efforts to secure the rapid transit system, including dispatching more police to stations at a cost of $10,000 per day since the July 7 bombings in London. He and several state and federal security officials told the Senate committee that Georgia's law enforcement groups have worked to improve interagency communication and information sharing since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Brian Kemp (R-Athens), chairman of the Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, and Senate Transportation Chairman Bill Stephens (R-Canton), both of whom are seeking statewide office in 2006, called the meeting to hear from various public safety experts about Georgia's public transportation operations.

"What I feel better about is our level of communication between agencies," Stephens said after the meeting. "What I feel less certain about is our accomplishments in informing the public about what it is they can do or what they need to know."

State Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) said that he left the meeting feeling confident that Georgia's law enforcement and security agencies have improved their communication and are prepared for a crisis. But he said the Legislature needs to look seriously at security funding for MARTA.

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Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

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