NCJ Number
204340
Date Published
June 2003
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This report presents guidelines from the United States Department of Homeland Security for the development of jurisdictional terrorism prevention plans.
Abstract
Six sets of guidelines are enumerated in this report, which is a living document that will continue to be refined and appended to improve its comprehensiveness and specificity. The guidelines are designed to function as a set of general activities, objectives, and elements that organizations can use as a framework for the development of jurisdictional terrorism prevention plans. The ultimate goal of the guidelines is to empower a cultural shift among public safety organizations, agencies, and personnel in the way they view and respond to public safety issues. The first set of guidelines presents eight specific steps jurisdictions can take to improve collaborations between and among public and private sector agencies. Examples of recommendations include the suggestion to establish a system, center, or task force to serve as a clearinghouse and to prepare Memorandums of Understanding and formal coordination agreements between agencies. The second set of guidelines offer six suggestions for developing "information sharing" links among agencies, including the recommendation for jurisdictions to establish an information exchange network and directory. The third set of recommendations involves risk management approaches to reduce the vulnerability of targets to weapons of mass destruction. These include the establishment of anti-terrorism "target hardening" activities and the development of an analytic risk management model to assess vulnerability. Fourth, 22 suggestions are made for jurisdictions that seek to improve their threat recognition capabilities. These include the creation of a secure system to collect, screen, and store information, and the coordination of public safety communications to forewarn of threats. The fifth set of guidelines offers recommendations for jurisdictions that want to improve intervention efforts to thwart terrorist attacks before they occur. The 10 recommendations include training law enforcement personnel in tactical capabilities and the dissemination of the legal criteria for conducting wiretaps and conducting surveillance. The final nine recommendations concern broader weapons of mass destruction prevention strategies with national implications, including the establishment of coordinated standards for driver's licenses and the establishment of a national laboratory for homeland security. The appendix offers a glossary of terms. Appendix