NCJ Number
201678
Journal
Chief of Police Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2003 Pages: 26,28-29,30
Date Published
May 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the counterterrorism concepts and measures that characterize the Miami Police Department's (MPD's) efforts in this area under the leadership of Chief John Timoney.
Abstract
Over the next few months, members of the MPD's Terrorist Task Force Unit will be training in London, England, to learn how that city's police force has dealt with the domestic terrorism of the IRA. The Terrorist Task Force of the MPD is in charge of assessing training needs and implementing the terrorist response plan. A manual specifies action for each color-coded alert issued by the national Office of Homeland Security. MPD officers have been trained in the basics of first response to a terrorist incident, have been issued bio-hazard suits, and participate in "table top" training exercises. In addition to the citywide alert training, the Terrorist Task Force Unit is receiving training under a $3.5 billion Federal funding package for law enforcement. Over the next 2 years, 400,000 individuals will receive 18-plus hours of training in the support of first-responders in emergencies, in providing immediate assistance to victims, in organizing spontaneous volunteers at disaster sites, and in collecting disaster intelligence. Funding for counterterrorism training includes courses that range from domestic antiterrorism technology development, cybercrime, and national interagency civil-military disaster preparedness.