Hospitals On the Front?

[Annie]

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/investigators/wabc_050405_investigatorsstory_hospitalsecurity.html

...This really has federal authorities puzzled - intruders masquerading as doctors and inspectors probing hospital security. But there is no evidence the cases are connected, including two in New Jersey. Hospital officials and security experts say the similarities are disturbing.

It happened on Easter Sunday. Three men of middle-eastern descent entered a Sussex County hospital posing as physicians.

Dennis Collette, Newton Memorial Hospital President: "They said they were physicians and wanted a tour of hospital and wanted information about hospital, bed capacity, and wanted a tour of the emergency department."

Two days later, a man and woman walked into the emergency room at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, also requesting a tour.

Similar suspicious activity at hospitals in Boston, Detroit and Indiana prompted the Department of Homeland Security to issue a alert. It warns about intruders posing as hospital inspectors and doctors trying to gain information.

The use of false credentials to gain entry into hospitals is not new and is often done to get drugs or medical supplies. But the Department of Homeland Security says these recent events are different because of the number of similar incidents over a short period of time.

William Daly, Control Risks: "That's the most troubling thing, they're more sophisticated."

This former FBI counter-terrorism expert says these cases have all the markings of classic reconnaissance.

William Daly: "It seems to be almost looking to see how much information they can get how much information is available, what is out there, what people's response will be and they all seem to fade off before anyone's able to get authorities or get these people taken in for questioning."

The Department of Homeland Security's bulletin stresses it has no direct threat information related to hospitals. Security experts caution that these cases of fake physicians and inspectors could just be coincidental, however bold and bizarre.

Dennis Collette: "It is unusual for three people to come claim to be doctors on an Easter Sunday and ask for a tour."

The identity of these intruders remain unknown. We do know that security cameras at the Newton Hospital did capture video of the three men pretending to be doctors. That tape is now in the hands of the FBI.