The Majority Staff of the House Committee on Homeland Security released a report Tuesday examining homeland security challenges for large-scale public gatherings which detailed 30 shortcomings in planning by federal, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector for protecting the public should an act of terrorism or disaster occur.

The report, “Public Health, Safety, and Security for Mass Gatherings,” states that large public venues like the Super Bowl (see HSToday's report, "High Noon in the Valley of the Sun"), NASCAR races (see the HSToday report, "NASCAR: Securing America's Mobile City"), concerts, and political conventions could be terrorist targets – a threat risk that repeatedly has been pointed out in threat assessments by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

“High-profile” events “make [them] a desirable target for domestic or international terrorists,” the threat assessments have said.

The committee’s majority staff report though said nothing about specific potential security risks that DHS’s threat assessments identified, and which were first exclusively reported by HSToday.us.

The report also fails to make mention of the problem emergency medical care facilities in localities and regions in which a bio or chemical attack could occur may have in being able to handle large numbers of patients.

(See the Kimery Report, “Crisis in Trauma, Emergency Care.”)

DHS’s threat assessments – which were prepared in conjunction with the FBI and Intelligence Community - stated “the threats of greatest concern” during mass public gatherings “include individuals impersonating law enforcement and other security personnel and insiders to facilitate attacks.”

The terrorism threat assessment for Super Bowl XLII identified four incidents in which terrorists used insiders in their plotting. One of the three “scenarios of concern” outlined in the assessment is “security breaches and insider threats.”

The Super Bowl threat assessment specifically warned law enforcement officials to the possibility that persons may try to breach security by impersonating federal, state, or local law enforcement using stolen official law enforcement credentials and equipment, thefts of which HSToday.us has reported is on the rise nationally.

The 64-page committee majority staff report focuses on bioterror risks affecting large gatherings of people in stadiums and at concerts which are especially vulnerable to terrorist attacks using biological agents that can be distributed quickly and lead to infections and illnesses.

While public health, first responder, law enforcement, and intelligence communities are doing the best they can with what they have, the report states more can and must be done. The report’s recommendations focus on countering biological terrorism and other threats, planning for emergencies, and sharing information and resources.

Counterterror and law enforcement authorities interviewed by HSToday.us said the report also should have talked about the insider threat risk as a potential important security breach in the report’s discussion on countering threats to mass gatherings.

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said in a statement that “first responders and their partners are working hard to ensure public health, safety and security at large-scale mass gatherings. The external threat to these venues is real and rising as interest in targeting mass gatherings grows. Without increased Federal support and guidance, they will remain vulnerable.”

Above photo: Glendale, New Hampshire Police patrol Super Bowl XLII on Segway Personal Transporters.

Photo: Segway Inc.