Terrorism and Domestic Preparedness

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Fielded Programs:
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Information Technology
This project supports continuation and expansion of NIJ information- sharing technology currently operational in several South Florida jurisdictions. San Diego is among the new jurisdictions in which this technology will be demonstrated. NIJ will also continue to support the technical assessment of TRP-1000, an interoperable communications system developed to enhance the ability of emergency response agencies better communicate at incident scenes. As part of this assessment OSLDPS has provide the TRP-1000 to several jurisdictions across the country. NIJ will evaluate the use of the TRP-1000 in these jurisdictions. This includes demonstration of TRP-1000 in NIJ's Alexandria, Virginia AGILE (Advanced Generation Interoperability for Law Enforcement) testbed. For further information about AGILE, contact Dr. John Hoyt at 703/351-8487, by e-mail at jhoyt@darpa.mil or Tom Coty, of NIJ, at 202/514-7683 or by e-mail at cotyt@ojp.usdoj.gov. For more information about TRP-1000 provided by OSLDPS, contact Scott Kelberg at 202/305-9887 or by e-mail at kelbergs@ojp.usdoj.gov.

Explosive Detection and Remediation
These funds support OJP's collaborative efforts with the federal Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), the FBI, the Department of Navy, and 40 local law enforcement agencies in 27 states, to provide state and local bomb squads with better technology in dealing with explosive devices.

The efforts supported include:

• continued development of a computer-based data retrieval tool for bomb technicians that will put over 30 years worth of information contained in the FBI Bomb Data Center's Technical Bulletins at their fingertips;
• demonstration with the Kansas-Missouri Bomb Technician Working Group of an innovative technology to safely neutralize large fuel-fertilizer bombs, such as the ones that leveled the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City;
• continued support for Sandia National Laboratory's "Operation; Albuquerque," the "graduate school for bomb technicians;"
• and release of a competitive solicitation, in collaboration with TSWG, for proposals to develop and demonstrate improved bomb robots.

For more information, contact Chris Tillery of the NIJ at 202/305-9829 or by e-mail at tilleryg@ojp.usdoj.gov.

Chemical and Biological Defense These funds support OJP's collaborative efforts with the TSWG to provide law enforcement and other first reponsders with the technology necessary to help them;

• identify a chemical or biological weapons terrorist attack,
• survive the attack,
• and continue to perform their role in protecting and defending the public.

Ongoing efforts in the area include:

• a study to determine the chemical and biological threats first reponders can really expect to face,
• development of a cheap, wearable device to warn them of the presence of chemical and biological hazards,
• and assessment of the utility of commericially available quick masks.

For more information, contact Chris Tillery of NIJ at 202/305-9829 or by e-mail at tilleryg@ojp.usdoj.gov

Standards Project
Through the Office of Law Enforcement Standards at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST/OLES) NIJ is developing the standards necessary to develop and test technology to combat terrorism not only for law enforcement but for the entire first responder community. As the Interagency Board on Standardization and Interoperability's (IAB) Executive Agent for development of WMD Equipment Standards, NIST/OLES is: developing a single source compendium for first responders that describes available equipment for responding to WMD events; publishing a set of first responder equipment guides; and, in collaboration with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developing respirator standards. For more information, contact Chris Tillery of NIJ at 202/305-9829 or by e-mail at tilleryg@ojp.usdoj.gov

Critical Incident Workshop Group
This project continues to support coordinated victim services to assist rescue workers and victims of the Oklahoma City bombing through:

• planning and conducting Critical Incident Workshops;
• coordinating referrals for follow-up group counseling, in conjunction with Project Heartland;
• implementing a program offering weekend counseling and therapy sessions for couples in marital crisis and for individuals who have divorced or individuals who are seeking divorce as a result of the bombing; and
• producing and utilizing two short videos on post-traumatic stress symptoms.

  The Critical Incident Workshop Group members are:

  Dr. Jack Poe, Director
  Chaplain, Oklahoma Police Department

  Joe B. Williams, Associate Director
  Chaplain, FBI, Oklahoma Division

  Jeanette King, Administrator

  For more information about the Critical Incident Workshops, call or write:

  Critical Incident Workshops
  5500 N. Western, Ste. 200
  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118
  phone: 405/842-6000
  fax: 405/848-4253

  Persons interested in obtaining information about up-coming sessions should call 405/842-6000. The sessions are usually held in the Stillwater, OK area are are especially designed for those individuals involved in the Oklahoma disaster.

• Pan Am 103/Lockerbie Trial Family Website
  Syracuse University Law School has created and maintains a secure Website to provide the families of the victims of the Pan Am 103 plane bombing with information and analysis about the upcoming criminal trial. The Website contains background legal information, trial updates and legal analysis, information on victim services, and an interactive component to facilitate questions and answers for family members. For more information, contact Barbara Johnson of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) at 202/307-5983 or by e-mail at askovc@ojp.usdoj.gov.

• NIJ’s Technology Development: Critical Incident Technologies is a program to provide state and local law enforcement communities better tools to respond to critical incidents.

• Responding to Terrorism Victims: Oklahoma City and Beyond (2000) addresses the lessons learned from the response to the Oklahoma City bombing, which provides a foundation for recommendations to improve preparedness for future terrorism.