NCJ Number
224516
Date Published
October 2008
Length
134 pages
Annotation
This manual is designed to help police executives and other senior executives meet the new challenges involved in countering the threat of terrorism by summarizing writings on the essential components of a counterterrorism plan.
Abstract
The first three parts of the manual address the preparatory steps of the executives preparing themselves and their agencies for the efforts to follow, understanding the threat, and development of a plan and a support network. In preparing themselves and their agencies, executives are advised to embrace their new role in leading their agencies in counterterrorism planning and operation; to know that fear is the enemy; to prepare for terrorism alerts; to expect more public attention; to question assumptions; to recognize the limits of the use of force; and to identify local vulnerabilities. In the second part of the manual, “Understanding the Threat,” executives are advised to think of terrorism as crime; to recognize that terrorism comes in many forms; to not waste time on terrorist’s motives; to think from the terrorist’s perspective; to counter “What if?” with “How likely,”; to not overstate the risk of foreign attack; and to beware of the domestic terrorist. The third preparatory part of the manual focuses on developing a plan and a support network. Executives are advised to work with business, partner with private security, know about risk management, and pursue terrorism grants. The last three parts of the manual cover in more depth the three essential components of a counterterrorism plan: developing intelligence on possible terrorists; identifying and protecting major targets; and expanding disaster-response capabilities to encompass the response to a terrorist attack. Each of the six parts of the manual is divided into separate briefs that summarize topics or techniques.