Beyond startup programs, university partnerships and prize competitions, there are still countless ways to promote public safety innovation. One of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) most consequential efforts to do so has focused on giving the private sector legal incentive to continue developing and deploying large scale security technologies.
Coinciding with S&T’s 15-years of approving anti-terrorism technologies for liability protections under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act, the S&T Office of SAFETY Act Implementation (OSAI) has now approved more than 1,000 Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technologies. This mark is a testament to the success of the program in encouraging widespread innovation and deployment of technologies to keep the public safe.
“The thousandth approval commemorates expansion of the program, not just because of quantity, but quality of anti-terrorism security capabilities and technologies,” said Bruce Davidson, Director of S&T’s SAFETY Act program.
Recent technologies that have met SAFETY Act criteria include the Bloomberg Corporate Headquarters Security Program, the Soldier Field Security Program for SMG and the Chicago Park District, and Boeing’s Wave Glider. Others approved under the SAFETY Act include screening services, commercial shopping mall properties, professional sports venues, and other important infrastructure security technologies.
