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Airport Watch

Why Should Suspicious Activity be Reported?

Terrorists are known to have conducted reconnaissance and surveillance activities as part of planning attacks. The nature of these types of information gathering activities are typically ordinary, although unusual, and therefore often go unreported. This is known as suspicious activity.

The Department of Infrastructure and Transport (the Department) is currently developing a best practice process for reporting suspicious activity at airports by strengthening existing:

  • preventive security measures and procedures;
  • observation, collection, reporting and analysis of suspected terrorist intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance activities; and
  • training and awareness raising activities.

Airport Watch Trial at Adelaide Airport

The Department worked in partnership with Adelaide Airport Limited, the Australian Federal Police and South Australia Police to conduct a proof of concept trial.

The trial at Adelaide Airport has two objectives:

  1. to strengthen and build security awareness, more specifically strengthening the identification and reporting of suspicious activity capability of the Adelaide Airport community; and
  2. to validate a best practice process for reporting suspicious activity to be implemented across other Australian airports.

The proof of concept trial, called Airport Watch, is similar to the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Airport Watch seeks to strengthen the security culture at Adelaide Airport by involving the airport community in identifying and reporting suspicious activity.

Airport Watch commenced on Monday 19 April 2010 at Adelaide Airport and concluded on 21 May 2010.

If you work at or are travelling through Adelaide Airport and you see something suspicious, please report it immediately. Even information that seems unimportant could help the police uncover and stop suspicious activity.

The five critical pieces of information when reporting suspicious activity are:

  1. Date of when the suspicious activity took place;
  2. Time of when the suspicious activity took place;
  3. Place/location where the suspicious activity took place;
  4. Description of the suspicious activity (i.e. what was the make or model of the car; was there something unique about the person/s; should that parcel be there?); and
  5. What happened - describe in your words what you saw.

To report suspicious activity at Adelaide Airport, cal l 131 AFP (131 237).

For further information regarding Airport Watch at Adelaide Airport, please email:

AirportWatch@infrastructure.gov.au

Suspicious activitiesare any activities, behaviours or events that are unusual enough to make you suspicious. Suspicious activities may also include objects which appear abandoned, out of place or rearranged without prior explanation.

Remember: what makes a person suspicious is not the colour of their skin, gender, ethnicity or socio-economic position. It's what they are doing, where they are or how they are behaving.

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Last Updated: 2 November, 2011