NCJ Number
213248
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 73 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 78-81
Date Published
February 2006
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article presents some of the findings that have come from the work of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Technology & Training Support Center (MALETTSC), which is researching the integration of the homeland security mission into community policing.
Abstract
MALETTSC recently brought together first responders from police and fire services to explore the collection of information at the local level and the sharing of intelligence. Some sources of community-based information discussed in the focus groups were Neighborhood Watch, which can provide information on suspicious behavior in neighborhoods; hotel personnel, who can provide information about suspicious guests; real estate agents, who can provide information on suspicious activities at properties; storage-facility personnel, who may notice explosives or hazardous materials brought for storage; and businesses that sell materials that could be used to make bombs. Many other community-based sources of security-related information are also listed in this article. Ways of collecting information from these community-based sources are also discussed. An important aspect of collecting information from civilians is the cultivation of an interaction that encourages and motivates individuals to recognize and share information that could be helpful in detecting the planning of a terrorist attack. It is also important that community-based information obtained by one public safety agency be shared with other agencies for the purposes of analyzing and acting on the information cooperatively.