Washington has said it's willing to pay $200 million a year to cover New York City's security costs for the trials of Sept. 11 plotters. What's good enough for the Big Apple ought to be good enough for the Motor City.

     Detroit faces millions of dollars in security costs if the case against would-be Christmas Day underwear bomber suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab goes to trial. It's money neither the state nor city has. And so far, the federal government has not committed to help out.

     Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, has asked Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano about how the Obama administration intends to provide for Detroit's safety if Abdulmutallab comes to trial here. In response, she received a vague assurance that Detroit's costs would be covered out of money set aside for the trials, with no amount specified.

     The costs could be significant. The location of the federal courthouse in Detroit makes security particularly challenging. The entrance to the building is only a few feet from Lafayette Boulevard, and it is surrounded by public streets that would likely have to be blocked off.

     The aging courthouse also lacks many of the interior security safeguards common in new structures.

     There will be concerns about protesters and about Detroit's proximity to the Canadian border. While the challenges of holding a trial here won't be as large as they are in New York, they still will be formidable.

     Before Abdulmutallab, who is being held in the federal penitentiary in Milan, 45 miles from downtown Detroit, returns to the courthouse, security plans must be in place.

     If the federal government cannot assure Detroit's safety, it should consider moving the trial out of the courthouse and into a more secure location, such as Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.

     In New York, local officials are bickering with federal authorities about how much security will be needed to protect the city during the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the Sept. 11 mastermind who is supposed to be tried in the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

     There, consideration has been given to securing not just the courthouse, but also much of the surrounding area, including establishing safety zones for the airspace above the courthouse and the nearby harbor.

     Abdulmutallab isn't nearly as high profile as Khalid Sheik Mohammed. But Detroit is still vulnerable. Security for the city should not be an afterthought.

     Mayor Dave Bing must continue to press the White House for assurances that the cost of securing the city will be covered by the federal government, which made the decision to try Abdulmutallab in a civilian court.

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