Summary

Domestic Terrorism: Prevention Efforts in Selected Federal Courts and Mass Transit Systems

PEMD-88-22  June 23, 1988

Full Report (PDF, 110 pages)   

In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on current efforts to protect against domestic terrorism in federal court buildings and mass transit systems.

GAO found that: (1) the U.S. Marshals Service protects federal court facilities and personnel against terrorist actions; (2) the seven court districts it reviewed implemented and enhanced most of the Service's standard security measures against terrorism; (3) although the courts established emergency response procedures, they emphasized prevention; and (4) the courts generally selected risk-reduction strategies that would not negatively affect the court's openness or the general public's civil liberties. GAO also found that: (1) the Urban Mass Transportation Administration failed to address civil liberty issues in its technical assistance project on terrorism prevention and response strategies; (2) local transit officials regarded their systems as only secondary targets for terrorist attack and considered accident and common crime prevention more important than terrorism prevention; and (3) transit officials had generally not tested the performance effectiveness or intrusiveness of their security systems. In addition, GAO found that: (1) no one specific agency was responsible for providing federal agencies with technical information and expertise regarding the planning, coordination, and evaluation of domestic antiterrorism strategies; and (2) there was a lack of uniform, systematic, and comprehensive planning efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of current antiterrorism measures.

Subject Terms

Antiterrorism
Civil liberties
Crime prevention
Emergency response
Emergency response procedures
Facility security
Federal courts
Law enforcement
Mass transit
Sabotage
Safety standards
Terrorism
Urban transportation
Transportation planning
Marshals Service Courtroom Security Program
Marshals Service Judicial Facility Security Program
Marshals Service Personal Security Program
Marshals Service Technical Assistance Program