N.J. $5.7M Anti-Terror Program a Practical and Fiscal Failure
Written by Raven Clabough
According to Judicial Watch, the U.S. government has spent almost $6 million on an experimental “anti-terrorism” program in New Jersey called “Text Against Terror.” The plan, which encouraged the public to send in tips regarding potential terrorism via text messages from their cellphones, has proved to be a significant practical and fiscal failure.
The initiative was the invention of NJ Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo, who was a Port Authority police captain on September 11, 2001. Following that time, he was sent to Israel to study counterterrorism techniques.
The project began in June of 2011. According to the press release for Text Against Terror’s initiation on the NJ Transit Police’s website, the plan was that customers would be able to “report suspicious activity, packages or vehicles around NJ Transit facilities or onboard the system by sending a text message to NJTPD (65873).” Messages are routed directly to the NJ Transit Police Department.
The program was meant to complement the NJ Transit’s existing security hotline, 1888-TIPS-NJT, a number that customers could use to call in suspicious activity or unattended packages.
