Numerous Law Enforcement Agencies
Collaborate Within Texas on Related Issues,
Including Homeland Security

HOUSTON (Aug. 29, 2007) — As a precautionary measure, schools in the Houston area are being reminded to be extra vigilant when it comes to school bus security. A string of suspicious but unrelated school bus thefts dating back to January have raised some homeland security concerns with law enforcement agencies within the state.

"We always try to keep tabs on vehicles that could be used to get close in to a target," said Special Agent Patricia Villafranca, a media representative at the FBI’s Houston branch office. "It was important to remind people who provide security at the schools that just because it’s yellow and it looks like a school bus, don’t let your guard down."

During an interview with Houston Police Department Public Information Officer John Cannon, he pointed out the vehicle thefts have not yet be proven to have any ulterior motives connected with them.

"It’s fair to say that it’s on the radar screen as being suspicious that they’ve been stolen," said Cannon. "But, we haven’t had any intelligence saying that they’re going to be used in some detrimental way."

Recently, a notice was sent out from Houston Fusion Center that listed the buses that were stolen. According to Dennis Storemski, director of the Houston’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, the notice did not include any commentary.

"It wasn’t anything specific, it was just a matter of a potential crime pattern," said Storemski. "Typically when school buses are stolen, they’re generally recovered fairly quickly. It’s usually kids using them or malicious mischief or vandalism. Another possibility is that they could be going to Mexico, due to our proximity to the border. There are a lot of possibilities."

The Fusion Center is a collaboration of analysts from the Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The group is able to discuss issues in real time within the same department in the Houston Emergency Center. According to Special Agent Villafranca, the FBI will also be joining the center soon.

"There is a nexus between regular crime and homeland security potentially. The Fusion Center deals with both of these issues, so sometimes when we see any kind of pattern, we share that crime analysis information with the appropriate people," said Storemski.

Although none of the school buses were owned by Houston Independent School District (HISD), it was also notified of the thefts.

"The Houston Independent School district was informed about the school bus thefts by local authorities," said HISD spokesperson Norm Uhl. "HISD has been on heightened awareness since 9/11 and our bus drivers have been trained by homeland security to be on the lookout for anything unusual that needs to be reported to local authorities."

Although there have been no terrorist activity within the U.S. against or using school buses, there is still the possibility of a worst case scenario. NAPT recently reported that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division sent out a notice to law enforcement agencies that reminded officers — in light of the upcoming school year — about video tapes found in Afghanistan in 2003 that show al-Qaeda terrorists training to take over schools.

"It’s an issue of being used as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device," said Storemski. "The bigger your vehicle, the more explosives you can carry. Like during the Oklahoma City incident, they used a Ryder truck filled with fertilizer and fuel oil that made an improvised explosive device. The thinking is that school buses can be used as something less recognizable as something other than a vehicle that’s supposed to be where it's at."