Protecting Crowds at Large Public Events

Crowds in open areas, such as people gathering to enter sporting events or mass transit facilities, can be attractive targets for terrorism. The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Defense are developing new methods to protect people from explosives attacks at large public events.

The Standoff Technology Integration and Demonstration Program is an innovative, multi-year program to develop, test, and evaluate explosives countermeasure systems for person- and vehicle-borne threats at large public events. The program is jointly funded by the Science & Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and by the U.S. Department of Defense organization known as JIEDDO, or the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.

The two organizations are working closely with commercial technology developers to test, focus, and accelerate solutions—for example, establishing a Standoff Detection Test Bed at the 6,000-seat Toyota Center in Kennewick, Washington. Testing here and at larger venues will help the government set operational and technology requirements for next-generation countermeasure systems. With a combination of live testing, industry involvement, and international collaboration. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization are working to make crowd environments safer places for citizens.