NCJ Number
179154
Date Published
1999
Length
116 pages
Annotation
Some multinational corporations receive up to 10 bomb threats in a single day, and only by proper threat management can modern commercial and industrial enterprises maintain continuity in their normal business operations.
Abstract
For years, law enforcement authorities have published general guidelines for industry to follow when confronted with bomb threats. The response has been to set up internal company procedures that in some way conform to these guidelines. These procedures, however, differ widely from industry to industry and even between companies within the same industry. As result, confusion surrounds the questions of what facts are important, how to evaluate the seriousness of the facts, what decisions should be made and when, and who should make those decisions. A high profile corporate bomb policy and an aggressive threat management program are fundamental to address these questions in a standardized and efficient way. In discussing what corporate policy should be and the level of corporate personnel participation and financial support that will be committed to bomb threat matters, the emphasis is placed on adaptation and the use of existing corporate assets and facilities for communication, command centers, staging areas, blast recovery, and return to work. Consideration is also paid to procedures involved in controlling a bomb threat, mechanics of search and evacuation, and crisis events after normal work hours. Appendixes contain flow charts to illustrate the structure of the decision-making process, along with score cards for companies to assess risk, schedules to evaluate the dangers of returning to work, event reporting forms to aid in event analysis, and illustrations of quickly recognizable emblems to identify persons who are responsible for decision-making.