NCJ Number
71019
Date Published
1980
Length
201 pages
Annotation
Search techniques for rooms, structures and areas, vehicles, and aircraft are among the procedures included in this guide to bomb search techniques for law enforcement and security officials.
Abstract
The manual emphasizes the need for a mobile communications and decisionmaking command center in directing bomb searches and describes how to plan for three possible ways bomb incidents begin: receipt of a threat or warning; location of a device suspected of being a bomb; and actual detonation or ignition of a bomb. General building search procedures are outlined, and a room searching technique is discussed based on the use of a two-man searching team. The manual outlines search techniques for structures and areas including outside areas, streets and highways, schools, office buildings, auditoriums, ships and aircraft, and elevator wells and shafts. Detailed procedures are given for searching a vehicle for an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and for searching three critical areas in aircraft: flight deck, passenger seating portion over the fuel cells, and the rear of the aircraft. Investigative techniques at the bombing scene, where evidence is collected to identify the perpetrator, include selecting the team chief, securing and protecting the scene, ensuring safety, and organizing a scene search. Procedures for packaging and shipping samples for laboratory examination are described. A final chapter delineates the effects and hazards associated with the explosion of an IED and discusses peak-blast pressure and its effects upon persons or structures. Tabular data are included, and appendixes contain information on telephone call bomb threat procedures, envelope and package bombs description and identification, do's and don'ts, minimum safe distance radio and TV broadcasts, common terms associated with explosives, reference reading film and slide sets, and a glossary of terms.