VIPR Comes to Salt Lake City
News & Happenings
December 18, 2007
Salt Lake City VIPRs
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) had its first Visual Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) experience Nov. 13 and 14 as special teams of transportation security officers, behavior detection officers (BDOs), bomb appraisal officers and transportation security inspectors (TSIs) surged at maximum strength to augment normal security operations.
"Using our uniformed personnel in non-traditional roles is key to future success," said Federal Security Director Earl Morris.
Federal Air Marshals from the Denver Field Office and law enforcement officers from the Salt Lake City Airport Police Department, including all of the TSA-certified K-9 units, participated in the exercise. Employee access gates and activity on the ramp were monitored and challenged by Aviation Direct Access Screening Program (ADASP) and TSI personnel. BDOs served in their traditional roles at checkpoints and concourses. BDOs served in their traditional roles at checkpoints and the exit concourses.
Security checks were conducted in all areas contiguous to the terminals, including the taxicab staging area, sky cap stations on the terminal curbs, and the short-term parking structure.
For the first time, TSA uniformed personnel deployed to two light rail mass transit TRAX stations to observe morning commuters and serve as a visual deterrent. This created substantial interest among the commuters and media who covered the deployment to TRAX on the evening news.
