NCJ Number
79368
Date Published
1980
Length
97 pages
Annotation
This book elucidates the basic principles of planning defenses against terrorist bomb attacks upon industrial or business sites.
Abstract
Security planning is the primary concern in defending a facility against terrorist bombing. Planning requires assessments of the risk of attack and of the facility's vulnerability to intrusion, followed by selection of the optimum preventive and safety measures that are economically feasible. Responsibility for the formulation and implementation of the plan rests with management, but a plan can be effective only with staff cooperation. A security plan against bomb attack should make the maximum use of existing resources and skills and must be continually reviewed, tested, and revised. Unnecessary hazards, such as likely sites for bomb placement, should be eliminated, and windows should be secured against bomb ingress by projection. According to the standoff principle, damage to people and buildings can be minimized if vital targets are removed from areas where a bomb might be exploded. Flammable materials should not be used near especially vulnerable places and information storage areas should be secure. The main lines of defense against physical attack on a facility are keeping intruders out, detecting intruders quickly if they do succeed in getting in, and making effective action as difficult as possible for anyone who eludes the anti-intruder measures. Preventive steps should aim to preclude a complete shutdown of operations even if an explosion occurs. To this end, vital points must be secured against any possibility of localized bomb damage. A person receiving a bomb threat over the phone should attempt to ascertain the whereabouts of the bomb, its appearance, the time it is due to go off, whether it is booby trapped, and what procedure will deactivate the bomb. Immediately following are measures to evacuate the facility and to formulate a plan for finding the bomb. Subsequent action is in the hands of the facility's specially trained bomb threat officer. Flow charts, graphs, and tables illustrate the instructions provided.