Ten years after the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, a U.S. Senate subcommittee held a hearing to discuss what the law enforcement community has learned.
The man who led the Boston Police Department at the time, Ed Davis, is among those who testified about how the 2013 attack has affected emergency preparedness at the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs' hearing, "Lessons Learned: 10 Years Since the Boston Marathon Bombings."
A decade ago, the FBI was criticized for not sharing information about the bombing suspects with local authorities. The continued cooperation between all levels law enforcement is vital and something that’s been difficult in the wake of the pandemic, according to the Senate's panel of experts.
"There were significant changes to the rules of engagement between task forces, between local, state and federal. So that's improved dramatically," Davis said. "We just hope that that the work that was done ten years ago, that that elastic doesn't snap back."
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Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, and Sen. and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, held the hearing.
Also testifying at the hearing were Rich Serino, who was deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the time, and Kerry Sleeper, who was deputy assistant director of the FBI.
Hassan said it's important to look back on what happened to learn how to prevent similar mass attacks in the future and adapt to changing threats, including the way artificial intelligence and social media play a role.
"What we heard today is that we need additional resources not only for hardening the soft targets, really everything from putting in locks to camera systems. But we also really heard about the importance of investing in training and preparation and building relationships at all different levels of law enforcement and community leadership," Hassan told NBC.
The 10th anniversary of the deadly bombing at the race's finish line was April 15, 2023. It was marked in Boston with a memorial ceremony at the site on Boylston Street, then another ceremony for which church bells rang.
