Petersburg Area Transit (PAT) recently partnered with Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) to announce their new security features with Federal Homeland Security K9 Detection Team. On Wednesday, December 3, PAT’s General Manager, Dironna Moore-Belton met with three officers from the Richmond Airport, along with highly trained explosive detection K9 Reagan, to conduct high visible activities at the PAT transit facility.
“This was a strategic and preventative tactic undertaken to provide a strong visible deterrent to criminal and terrorist threats. The use of K9 detection programs has been extremely successful in major cities that have mass transit, so we are excited to join that number”, says Belton.
The TSA’s program uses highly trained, yet passive K9’s, to detect and sniff out odors from explosives. The K9’s and officers are also trained to observe people and their behaviors, to identify any and all suspicious activities. These officers will work with PAT’s law enforcement officers to minimize and prevent threats to PAT’s commuters.
“PAT serves well over 500,000 riders annually; it’s our job to get them where they need to go, on time and safely” says Belton. “These searches will be conducted randomly and will not be an inconvenience to PAT’s commuters.”
Additional information is available from PAT’s Customer Service at 804-733-2460.