NCJ Number
197211
Journal
Sheriff Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2002 Pages: 24-27,54,55
Date Published
September 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Based on a workshop conducted in January 2000, this article suggests ways to establish information-sharing relationships between the law enforcement and the public health communities to ensure a timely and appropriate exchange of information during bioterrorism investigations.
Abstract
The 3-day workshop, sponsored by the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCOM) and the National Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO), used a panel of law enforcement and public health professionals to identify when it is important for these two communities to share information, what information is required for each investigation, and how each community can improve its information exchange. This article lists the occasions when the law enforcement community should consider sharing information with epidemiologists, as well as the circumstance under which the epidemiological community should share information with law enforcement agencies. The workshop panel recommended that each community use a prepared list of general questions that they could ask victims or patients, so as to aid the other's investigation. Tables list the personal/family health information that would be helpful; information needed on victims' activities; victims' and witnesses' information on a possible agent of dissemination of the biological contaminant; victim personal information; victim travel information; and victim information on the incident.