Tuesday, September 18, 2001

Protective agencies respond to Americans’ security fears
By James Zwilling
Staff Reporter

The safety concerns many Americans are feeling in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against America may cause people to question the credibility and accountability of U.S. protective agencies, assistant professor of criminal justice Chip Burns said.

Changes will be made in airports and agencies across the country, however, to help calm the fears of Americans, he said.

Federal agencies are being asked to contribute armed plainclothes security officials while the Federal Aviation Administration trains a new generation of marshals to provide security on airplanes, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Many of the marshals are coming from the Justice Department, hundreds of other marshals are being recruited and some will come from private security firms who serve as marshals for foreign airlines, Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a press conference Monday.

Burns said tasks as simple as cutting a steak in an airport restaurant located past security checkpoints will have to change if protective agencies plan on maintaining accountability.

“Those types of freedoms (like using knives in airport restaurants) are going to change,” he said.

Burns said these changes may calm some fears of travelers.

“Americans want to know who did this — who let this happen,” he said. “Americans need accountability.”

Burns said people will begin to hold agencies more accountable for their actions.

These agencies range from the local police and airport security to the federal government.

Lynn Ligon, director of public affairs and communication for the Dallas division of Immigration and Naturalization Service, said it will be difficult to persuade people at this time of uncertainty that they are safe in this country, but his agency will do its best.

“We want to make sure people are safe,” Ligon said. “(Americans) are still in a state of shock and fear.”

On a normal day, the Dallas INS office helps between 800 and 1,000 people from all different countries, Ligon said.

“Our credibility is important to people of all nations,” Ligon said. “People want our protection and they need to know that they are safe. But right now, I just don’t know that we’ll be able to convince them of that.”

Ligon said the main concern for INS right now is to protect those people who feel they may be threatened as a result of the terrorist attacks. “People are as safe here (America) as anywhere,” he said.

James Zwilling
j.g.zwilling@student.tcu.edu