NCJ Number
194363
Journal
The Beacon Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 3-4
Date Published
January 2002
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article describes the hoax and how to handle it.
Abstract
The hoax can be as effective a weapon as an actual attack, especially in this new age of fear. Possible severe psychological impact along with low risk of jail time may prove this a new weapon of choice among terrorists. The October anthrax attacks on the United States, while causing five deaths, made almost every American citizen fearful of their mail. The benefit to a terrorist sending one cent worth of flour in a five-cent envelope with a stamp is thousands of dollars worth of response, testing, lost business, and possibly the lost confidence in local authority. These hoaxes expose any weaknesses in local first response and severely drain cash resources. The effects of a hoax last only as long as fear and confusion can be sustained, and that amount of time correlates with the amount of time in which information can neither be obtained nor distributed. The direct psychological effects of chem/bio hoaxes can last for days without sufficient and accurate public information exchange. Hoaxes should not be an agency’s first experience with chem/bio terror. All hoaxes must be treated as actual events until proven otherwise. The Incident Command System needs to be utilized in handling hoax events. Hoaxes require a response by many local agencies and often various Federal agencies. Public communication protocols and a local media partnership should be established prior to the onset of an event. A spokesperson, whose job is to facilitate constant contact with the public, should be designated. Laws must be enacted to adequately convict those who wish to terrorize with the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Hoaxes should be seen as opportunities for surprise exercise. All hoaxes should have after-action reports conducted to define areas for improvement.