South Dakota asks public to look out for terrorist activity

The South Dakota’s Homeland Security administration has urged public to watch for eight signs that could suggest possible terrorist activity.

The signs include surveillance, information gathering, testing security, funding, acquiring supplies, impersonation, rehearsal, and deployment.

South Dakota Homeland security director Steve Pluta said that while there are no current terrorism threats found in the state, people still need to be observant.

"The recent terrorist events throughout the world have shown that such activity can take place anywhere.

"By knowing these signs, citizens can identify behaviors possibly associated with terrorist activity and notify law enforcement if they see anything suspicious."

Pluta urged public to call law enforcement if they notice somebody paying repeated close attention to a particular building or any other unusual activity.

Since July last year, South Dakota has participated in the the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) If You See Something, Say Something campaign, which has been adopted by law enforcement agencies, transportation systems, universities, sports leagues, and local and state governments in a nation-wide mission to counter terrorism.

The campaign was originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, but later licensed to DHS.

Earlier in 2015, US Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson re-launched the campaign with re-designed imagery as well as a new website.