NCJ Number
210422
Date Published
2005
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This report describes the U.S. Justice Department's Office for Domestic Preparedness' (ODP) exercise programs, which are designed to help States and localities identify the strengths and weaknesses of their capabilities and plans to respond to threats or acts of terrorism that involve weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Abstract
To meet a State's needs for WMD preparedness, ODP will work with State and local agencies as well as regional and national authorities to conduct exercises tailored to those needs. Types of exercises include seminars, workshops, drills to train responders, command-post or functional exercises that test the response of key personnel, field training or full-scale mobilization and deployment exercises, and large-scale games designed to improve the response to a major incident. A number of exercise series are offered to help maintain a high degree of readiness at the national, State, and local levels and allow responders to discuss interagency response strategies and test plans, procedures, and operations in real-time simulated events. National exercise programs consist of annual or biennial exercises conducted in real time to address realistic WMD scenarios. State-level and local-level exercises are designed to test responses during the critical first hours following a WMD event. ODP also helps governors and their staffs to design and conduct terrorism seminars to inform key State leaders about preparations for current and emerging terrorism threats. ODP's Exercise Manual and Toolkit provides basic information, guidance, and procedures for those who conduct exercises supported by ODP.