Emergency Response To Terrorism: A Self-Study

Many times the first signs of an impending attack would be noticed by a civilian. This could be a friend, family member, coworker or a store clerk. A bystander may also notice an unattended package or suspicious person in an area. This may be just enough to ward off the attack if the police are notified promptly.

These consist of bomb alerts, fire evacuation and first aid. These procedures are produced to give help to everyone at the place of the emergency. Everyone, especially adults must be aware of what to follow during an emergency to ensure everyone stays safe.

As worldwide terrorism continues to grow, and the need for even tighter security increases, we are constantly reminded through public announcements and signs to be on the alert for suspicious packages or luggage left unattended in public places. DO NOT TOUCH THEM, LEAVE THE AREA, and REPORT THE ITEM TO SECURITY PERSONNEL IMMEDIATELY we are told. Unfortunately, after the Jewell affair, the majority opinion of people seems to be that they will follow the first two instructions, and IGNORE the last about notifying security personnel; it appears that NO ONE wants to be the person that points out a potential bomb, lest they become the initial suspect of law enforcement, to be treated in the same manner as Richard Jewell.

Local protective measure planning equips first responders with the knowledge needed to organize efficient response results in the event of an emergency. Structured open dialogue between local emergency jurisdictions enables responders to delegate the appropriate individuals and equipment resources to the impacted local areas requiring the most aid following a terror event. By establishing a streamlined communication framework, local emergency responders can collaborate their efforts and resources to promote collective well-being. When a local emergency plan specifies what responders and resources belong where and at what time, response overlap and shortages can be avoided. Unionized response action established prior to a terrorist incident, serves to mitigate the risks, hazards and threat of injury or harm the people and property of the US face when a terrorism event occurs. Furthermore, a structured local emergency operations plan for a hazardous materials incident involving a terrorist is imperative to public health and safety, as the blueprint outlines protective measures the public can follow to minimize their exposure to dangerous substances. The people of a community affected by a terror event can be warned and notified of the event’s associated dangerous materials, which threaten their well-being, through a variety of methods such as warning sirens or horns, emergency alert systems, automated

The terrorist attacks on September 11 changed America forever. The attacks led to President Bush creating the Department of Homeland Security which tried to centralize the federal response to all terrorist threats. However, local police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians will still be the first to arrive at the scene of an attack. These first responders face a unique and increasingly dangerous task when reacting to a terrorist attack on US soil.

The attacks were more localized than most catastrophic disasters, did not overwhelm emergency shelters or food distribution centers, and did not destroy the city infrastructure in either New York or Washington.. However, the 9/11 experience highlights one critical concept. One cannot ignore the importance of maintaining highly trained local emergency responders as well as properly staffed and equipped local emergency response agencies; local first responders are on scene first, handle the vast majority of rescue operations, and cannot be practically replaced by federal responders, especially when disasters strikes without

There was a possible security threat regarding a tractor-trailer that occurred in Times Square in New York City. The New York Police Department issued an advisory that a possibly dangerous tractor-trailer had deviated from its original course and was headed towards Times Square after being paid $10,000. After proper communication and information was shared between the New York Police Department, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Rhode Island Fusion Center, Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, and the Connecticut Intelligence Center, the Connecticut State Police was able to intercept the vehicle and determined it was not a threat. It only took three hours from the time the New York Police Department issued an advisory to the time that the Connecticut State Police stopped the vehicle and determined it posed no threat to the public (5). Even though the truck was not a threat, this was a great example of proper communication, fusing of information, teamwork, and dissemination of information to counter a possible terrorist attack.

These types of events are crimes of opportunity, and first responders will almost never be able to stop them from happening, being aware of the situation once on scene is what will save lives in these events. Regardless of the type of incident, the President of the United States leads the response efforts to ensure all necessary resources are effectively used; more often in large scale attacks (Department of Homeland Security, 2016). The efforts made by the American people guide and fuel the first responders in protecting the United States. Although the United States has developed stronger and more effective strategies to prevent and respond to terrorist events, it is important to know that the threat is not going to diminish any time soon.

military’s vast experience in responding to and managing casualties from IED and/or active shooter incidents and from its significant investment in combat casualty care research into the civilian first responder environment” (DHS, First Responder Guide. 2015). In order to improve safety in response to terror events, especially those classified as international terrorism it will require that first responders to further prepare for a vast variety of potential threats. The focus of this increased preparation should not only regard the safe and effective responses of first responders to all potential hazards caused by a terrorist event; but should also include the improvement of first responder’s connections to their communities, the gathering of intelligence, information sharing, and realizing their role in domestic defense of the United States of America.

In 1995, Kevin Jack Riley and Bruce Hoffman published their study Domestic Terrorism: A National Assessment of State and Local Preparedness to examine the issues and problems state and local law enforcement agencies faced while dealing with the threat of terrorism in the United States. More specifically, researchers sought to identify how agencies at those two different levels perceived the terrorist threat in the United States, as well as learning how those agencies manage the threat of terrorism and plan and organize their response to actual incidents (Riley & Hoffman, 1995). In order to collect the data needed, the study was broken down into three separate research phases: (1) a national survey of state and local law enforcement agencies designed to assess how those law enforcement agencies perceive the threat of terrorism in the United States and to identify potential anti- and counter-terrorism programs currently used by those jurisdictions; (2) the selection of ten locations, chosen after completion of survey, as case studies to examine in detail how different jurisdictions have adapted to the threat of terrorism and to explain further the anti- and counter-terrorism programs used by those jurisdictions; and (3) the identification of programs used by state and local law enforcement agencies to counter potential future threats along with the development of a prospective future research agenda (Riley & Hoffman, 1995).

In the aftermath of a terrorist attack, local law enforcement is often the first responders on the scene. First responders have the most dangerous job of all since they can not always be sure that the threat is over when they enter a scene. These law enforcement officers, as first responders, have the responsibility of coordinating emergency services within the area and restoring the site. They do this by establishing an emergency command center in which they coordinate their efforts with local emergency personal such as paramedics and firefighters. They are responsible for anything that happens at the scene, including damage, until they have secured the scene (Maras, 2013).

As the Disaster Coordinator for the city I am responsible for ensuring the public safety and welfare of the citizens within the city's jurisdiction. This requires me to have a full understanding on my role and responsibilities for managing disaster response and employing resources in order to save lives, protect property, the environment. Additionally I’m tasked to preserve the less tangible but equally important social, economic and political structures. My first reaction was to alert the regional Joint Terrorism Task Force to prepare them for possible activation. Next it is vital to gain situational awareness and develop a Common Operating Picture (COP). This COP is the who, what, where, when and how as it relates to the incident. Situational awareness starts at the incident site and includes continuous monitoring of reporting channels to gain

Emergency management faces many challenges in today’s modern society. In the years prior to 9/11 emergency management was primarily focused on natural disasters. That has since changed; we now face a diverse variety of risks and hazards on a constant basis. As we continue to grow in population current and newer have compounded into more problems that emergency planner must face and find solutions for.

2. Situational Assessment. Once the Incident Commander arrives on the scene, s/he will need to assess the emergency quickly. Is there still a threat to the general population? Are the casualties identified or does Search & Rescue need to be mobilized? The IC needs to come up with a game plan to save lives, protect property and the environment, meet basic human needs, and stabilize the situation. 5

I concluded my internship on the last day of class at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, commonly referred to as START. Within START, I worked on the INSPIRE team. The INSPIRE research team looks at how civilians utilize social media to share sentiments about political elections in sub-Saharan African countries in the past two years. Each intern at START is required to complete a final project or research paper, applying the knowledge we have learned from working with our supervisors this semester. There are four interns on the INSPIRE team, so we paired into groups of two for the final project. My partner, Brooke, and I conducted a smaller scale visual sentiment analysis of the US election using