July 27, 2006 InfoGram

This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the Emergency Services Sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. For further information, contact the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at (301) 447-1325 or by email at emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov.

Primary Precautionary Measures

Considering the escalating situation in the Middle East and the increasing likelihood of a terrorist event in America, the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) recommended national and international "situation awareness" in the 20 July InfoGram. Although there is no credible intelligence indicating that an attack is imminent, the worsening conditions also demand local "situation awareness" and basic precautionary measures to protect community critical infrastructures.

For the benefit of critical infrastructure protection by the leaders, owners, and operators of emergency departments and agencies, the EMR-ISAC briefly summarizes as follows the primary precautionary measures gleaned from numerous security sources:

• Increase vigilance at critical infrastructure sites.
• Stay alert for anything unusual or suspicious in your area of operation.
• Rapidly report suspect individuals or things to local law enforcement.
• Ensure all personnel know what to do in the event of a terrorist attack.
• Review, practice, and revise existing security procedures.
• Guarantee sufficiency and functionality of protocols and procedures dealing with terrorism.
• Scrutinize security and response operations for upcoming local events.
• Reconfirm close relationships with all local response organizations.
• Maintain accurate accountability for all sensitive materials, equipment, and apparatus.
• Guard against social engineering by those who do not have the "need to know."

Basic Steps of Local Emergency Planning

Since the attacks at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, municipalities have struggled to create or revise community emergency plans. During the past several years, the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) has played a prominent part in emergency management and response throughout the nation. Therefore, the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) recognizes that ESS organizations can actively support local preparation efforts by coaching community leaders in the most basic steps of emergency planning and critical infrastructure protection.

The EMR-ISAC suggests that senior ESS personnel can perform a significant leadership role in the development of community emergency planning. Research further indicates that numerous ESS leaders recommend the following twelve basic steps of emergency planning:

• Ensure senior managers from all local departments and agencies agree that a plan is essential and all are willing to share the cost of creating it.
• Acquire the commitment and cooperation of the senior stakeholders.
• Resolve what actions each organization will perform in emergencies.
• Reconcile what resources each organization can provide in emergencies.
• Write a goal or mission statement for the planning committee.
• Develop a budget for the preparation of the emergency plan.
• Analyze the threats to and vulnerabilities of local critical infrastructures.
• Determine exactly what needs to be protected, when, and how.
• Write the emergency plan in consideration of all above.
• Rehearse the emergency plan as frequently as practicable.
• Correct errors in the plan and any deficiencies in execution.
• Keep the plan dynamic by periodic re-evaluation and when changes in the community could affect the plan's efficacy.

A former police officer, Certified Emergency Manager, and EMT, Glen Karpovich, writing for Officer.com, also suggests that each city agency train an employee in media relations. A media relations specialist can free the senior stakeholders to focus on the emergency at hand.

Homeland Responder Weekly Video Briefs

The Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) continuously searches for and analyzes the value of critical infrastructure protection (CIP) resources available at no cost to the departments and agencies of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS). Recently the EMR-ISAC reviewed the Homeland Responder Weekly Video Briefs by the Homeland Security Training Network (HSTN), and considers these briefs to be a worthwhile information and training asset for ESS organizations.

Presented as a series of weekly briefs over the internet, Homeland Responder utilizes Television on the Web to communicate current issues while providing insight into lessons learned. It also assists ESS organizations with a baseline understanding of the training necessary to effectively and safely respond to man-made or natural disasters.

HSTN itself was established to provide information to career and volunteer responders nationwide. HSTN endeavors to help responders explore current threats to critical infrastructures, the players, structures, and resources required to protect the homeland against all hazards. For more information about this no-cost opportunity, visit http://www.homelandresponder.org.

Training to Protect Law Enforcement Officers

According to an article in the March issue of Law Officer Magazine, annual line-of-duty deaths and daily assaults on police officers potentially degrade the law enforcement (LE) personnel infrastructure. Therefore, the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) searched for information about training to reduce these deaths and injuries.

The Police Officers Safety Association (POSA) website (http://www.posai.org) explains the group's three training formats: free training videos (DVDs are available for a nominal duplicating and shipping fee), the no-cost quarterly POSA Journal of Tactics and Training, and free hands-on training offered in the New England area, but open to all officers nationwide. Headquartered in Rhode Island, the non-profit association produces two full-length training videos each year and a two-minute video tip on a tactical law enforcement subject each month. The modular format of the training enables viewers to watch it in its entirety or in short blocks of time.

The POSA's current focus is on use-of-force training, a topic the association regards as the area of greatest risk to officers, and "typically the most difficult and expensive to obtain." Among the pertinent programs are firearm disarming and retention, tactical shotgun and tactical knife skills, and close quarters shooting.

POSA is a partner with the Rural Law Enforcement Technology Center, a program of the National Institute of Justice and the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center. The association is a strategic partner with PoliceOne.com that makes its membership available at no charge to the law enforcement community. PoliceOne.com verifies the law enforcement status of anyone interested in obtaining POSA's materials, which also are available to the military and its private contractors.