Code Orange is becoming increasingly meaningless.
State and local police forces -- the lynchpins of homeland defense -- are getting burnt out by Tom Ridge's constant switching of the "terror alert" level. The cops are now ignoring Washington's calls for increased vigilance, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
On May 20, when the nation went to Code Orange - the second-highest level in the national terror alert system - the US Capitol and the sidewalk in front of the White House remained open to visitors...
Justin Risly, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department, says his department does not change its security procedures during a federal orange alert.
"The bottom line for us is, unless we have a specific threat, we don't do much of anything differently," says Mr. Risly.
New Haven mayor John DiStefano adds, "For cities, everyone's pretty much freelancing on responses."
(via Global Security Newswire)
