The Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General recently released a report grading the security at four U.S. National Monuments, reports ABC News. The report documents the Interior Inspector General (IG) Earl Devaney's visits to the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Apparantley he was shocked by what he found.
According to NBC, Devaney walked arounnd the Statue of Liberty for "several hours" before finding any uniformed personnel. On top of that, only two people were assigned to watch over 110 securtiy monitors conected to cameras oerlooking the entire area. Said one of the managers, "(W)e are not covering all the posts....it's smoke and mirrors."
While in Washington, D.C., the Interior IG observed many security guards who were preoccupied with newspapers or cell phones, and found at least one patrolman asleep in his car.
In response to the report, Park Police Chief Dwight Pettiford pointed out that the monuments are "still standing".
What I'm having trouble digesting is the fact that this report seems to be concerned with the safety of the monuments themselves, rather than the safety of the people visiting them. I would like to think that our own government would be more concerned with the safety of our citizens, but Devaney seems to only be concerned with some really old buildings. I agree that the security at these "tourists traps" is abysmall, but only because of what it means to potential victims of the criminally minded.
I could care less if the giant phallus we call the Washington Monument toppled over tommorow. What I would care about is if it took innocent lives with it. Structures can be rebuilt. The interior IG needs to wake up and realize that the secureness of national monuments is not what's at stake here.
According to NBC, Devaney walked arounnd the Statue of Liberty for "several hours" before finding any uniformed personnel. On top of that, only two people were assigned to watch over 110 securtiy monitors conected to cameras oerlooking the entire area. Said one of the managers, "(W)e are not covering all the posts....it's smoke and mirrors."
While in Washington, D.C., the Interior IG observed many security guards who were preoccupied with newspapers or cell phones, and found at least one patrolman asleep in his car.
In response to the report, Park Police Chief Dwight Pettiford pointed out that the monuments are "still standing".
What I'm having trouble digesting is the fact that this report seems to be concerned with the safety of the monuments themselves, rather than the safety of the people visiting them. I would like to think that our own government would be more concerned with the safety of our citizens, but Devaney seems to only be concerned with some really old buildings. I agree that the security at these "tourists traps" is abysmall, but only because of what it means to potential victims of the criminally minded.
I could care less if the giant phallus we call the Washington Monument toppled over tommorow. What I would care about is if it took innocent lives with it. Structures can be rebuilt. The interior IG needs to wake up and realize that the secureness of national monuments is not what's at stake here.
No comments:
Post a Comment