Homeland Security: Protect

On April 15, 2013 the 117th running of the Boston Marathon took place in Boston Massachusetts. The race started like any other, but the ending of the race was cut short by two explosions that took place near the finish line a couple of hours after the winners had crossed.  The two explosions killed three and wounded hundreds of race participants and spectators.  Many interviews after the fact attested to the fact that the city of Boston had planned and prepared for disasters.  The close proximity of many area hospitals, no doubt saved many lives.  The location of the then closest facilities are shown in Map 1.

Map 1

How the two suspects, Chechen immigrant brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were able to place the pressure cooker bombs unnoticed remains unclear.  What is known that bag checks were not conducted near the finish line.  Using Esri selection tools, Boston PD and race organizers can determine the best places to place security check points for future events.  Map 2 shows a 500 ft buffer around the finish line and the points where that buffer intersects with local roads.

Map 2

Also critical to any surveillance operation is line of sight observation.  Esri 3D Analyst extension allows the user to create line of sight visuals that can aid in the placement of roof top and street level observation points. The hillshade tool can be used in conjunction with the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department to determine where shadows and non-visible areas may occur throughout the day.  Using the Sun or Moon Altitude/Azimuth Table, planners can find the azimuth and altitude of the sun at a particular time of day to create a model of shaded areas.  This model can then be used to determine what areas are visible form selected surveillance point.  Furthermore, the line of sight tool can be used to determine exactly which areas of a line of sight are obstructed.  These three elements are depicted in Map 3.

Map 3