InfoGram 16-10: April 22, 2010

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.

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The Concept of Resiliency

Considering the increased attention to resiliency in the 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan

(PDF, 4.5 Mb), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined how resilience has been addressed in the context of critical infrastructure and key resource (CIKR) protection. In its Report to Congressional Requesters (PDF, 719.5 Kb) regarding Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), the GAO explained that the concept of resiliency has gained particular importance and application in a number of areas of federal CIKR planning.

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) observed in the GAO report that members of Congress and executive branch agencies analyzed resilience in relation to the importance of the recovery of the nation’s critical infrastructure from damage caused by all hazards. Part of the discussion about resiliency focused on the definition of the concept. Some emphasis was given to three key abilities: robustness (protecting and hardening facilities), redundancy (system backups and overlaps), and flexibility (adjusting to disruption).

As a basis for incorporating resilience into critical infrastructure and society, the GAO report appraised a resilience framework in terms of accomplishing three mutually reinforcing objectives:

• Resistance—limiting the threat or potential for damage through interdiction, redirection, avoidance, or neutralization efforts.
• Absorption—mitigating the consequences of a damage-causing event.
• Restoration—reconstituting and resetting systems rapidly to operational status.

Having promoted CIP for many years, the EMR-ISAC noted the position of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council as stated in its report of September 2009: “Protection and resilience are not opposing concepts and represent complementary and necessary elements of a comprehensive risk management strategy.” Resilience builds upon and does not replace CIP. “It is the ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and rapidly recover from a potentially devastating event.” For application by the leaders, owners, and operators of the emergency services, resilience is simply the capability to restore normal operations soon after being degraded by a man-made or natural disaster.

Gangs versus Law Enforcement

According to articles found in multiple media sources (e.g., The Independent), members of a motorcycle club in Southern California have been arrested following allegations of assassination attempts on police officers. Investigative authorities at the Federal Bureau of Investigation call the club “a ruthless criminal organization that deals in guns, drugs, and death.” The Justice Department holds club members responsible for “assault, extortion, insurance fraud, money-laundering, murder, vehicle theft, witness intimidation, and weapons violations.”

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) confirmed that between February and April 2010, club members are suspected for the following attempts on the lives of law enforcers, particularly those in Hemet, which is 85 miles east of Los Angeles:

• Using home-made booby traps to injure and kill particular detectives.
• Drilling a hole in the roof of a police headquarters to fill the building with highly-flammable natural gas.
• Rigging a rifle to discharge when anyone entered the security gate outside of a police facility.
• Attaching an explosive device to the underside of a police sedan.
• Placing an explosive device on the pavement next to an unmarked police cruiser.
• Setting a fire that damaged a police training building.

Regarding these criminal activities, the Associated Press wrote that in the early morning of 20 April, federal and local officers took 16 white supremacists into custody in Riverside County (CA) for a variety of crimes as part of a probe into the string of attacks targeting law enforcement personnel.

In early March, The Press-Enterprise reported: “Law enforcement is now concerned that recent coordinated attacks on officers may be spawning copycat plots.” Therefore, activities are ongoing in California to mitigate or eliminate the threats against police officers. For the information of Emergency Services Sector departments and agencies nationwide, the EMR-ISAC noted the following measures that are being considered or implemented by California authorities:

• Provide additional training regarding the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by perpetrators.
• Wear body armor and protective equipment in areas where suspects may be located.
• Use tasers and less lethal options to help keep situations from turning deadly.
• Impose a hard-line, no-plea-bargain policy and push for the maximum sentence.
• Enact state laws increasing the penalty for assaults on peace officers.

(For example, require 15 years to life in prison for attempted murder of an officer, and at least life without parole, or eligibility for the death penalty for a murder conviction.)

Today’s Vehicles: Challenges for Responders

In a recent briefing, Dave Dalrymple, a 26-year veteran of the emergency services, discussed how late model vehicles incorporate new passenger safety, motor power, and construction innovations that present unforeseen rescue, extrication, and patient management complications. Considering this reality, he emphasized that keeping up with novel vehicle developments and how they affect rescue is a must for emergency personnel. He further advised that responders should be prepared to contend with multiple safety restraint systems in a variety of unusual locations, alternative power system components, and high-strength vehicle construction elements.

When conducting further research on this matter, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reconfirmed that hybrid vehicles present even more challenges for first responders. An article found in FireEngineering.com explained that emergency personnel must understand vehicle technology before responding to motor vehicle accidents and vehicle extrication situations involving hybrid vehicles. “Understanding the differences in these vehicles will help you make critical decisions in the field, saving valuable time when injuries are involved.”

The EMR-ISAC additionally revisited responder-specific guidelines for hybrid vehicles. These guidelines are usually in the form of Emergency Response Guides (ERGs), and provide an invaluable resource about a particular hybrid model vehicle. ERGs can be used by any emergency responder as a rescue resource tool on site. However, they were primarily developed to be utilized prior to an incident. The intended target audience of these guides is the company officer, training officer, or extrication instructor who may be presenting a company awareness program for hybrid safety.

More information about hybrid vehicles can be seen at the Auto Design and Extrication Forum, which is a streaming webcast that covers response to hybrid vehicle incidents as well as safety pointers on recent design features.

National Drug Threat Assessment 2010

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) received information from the U.S. Department of Justice that its National Drug Threat Assessment 2010 is now available online.

This non-sensitive report provides policymakers, law enforcement executives, resource planners, and counterdrug program coordinators with strategic intelligence regarding the threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The assessment highlights strategic trends in the production, transportation, distribution, and abuse of illegal and controlled prescription drugs. It also presents strategic intelligence regarding the operational trends and tendencies of drug trafficking organizations and street gangs that distribute illegal drugs. Finally, this report underscores the drug trafficking trends along the Southwest Border.

The Executive Summary indicated that illicit drugs in the United States are increasing. “In fact, in 2009 the prevalence of four of the five major drugs—heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and MDMA (ecstasy)—was widespread and increasing in some areas. Conversely, cocaine shortages first identified in 2007 persisted in many markets.”

Additional information about illicit drug use and the national threat can be seen at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) FastStats and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug Information Site.