S.F. Muni workers receive anti-terror training

As part of federal anti-terrorism efforts, employees of San Francisco's Municipal Railway (Muni) are being trained to spot suspicious activity on the transit system. In two-hour required training sessions, all 4,688 Muni employees--from cable car operators to fare inspectors--along with 300 San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic parking control officers are being taught to use visual screening techniques to spot suspicious people, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. During the sessions, which focus on understanding how terrorists work, Muni employees are being taught to look out for potential terrorist preparations such as someone casing the transit system or rehearsing an attack, said the Chronicle. Employees are also taught how to interrupt suspicious activity safely. The training, which takes place until mid-December, is sponsored and paid for by the Federal Transit Administration, as part of an effort to bolster the nation's public transportation systems. Muni was singled out for the training not because of a specific threat, but because of the size of the system, said the paper.