'High Alert’ warnings are too vague, police expert says
The federal government needs to create a more specific way to issue warnings of possible terrorist attacks so that local law enforcement agencies can better gauge the level of the threats, according to the head of the country's largest police executives organization.
The Justice Department has issued two general warnings since Sept. 11 about possible terrorist attacks, directing federal and local law enforcement agencies to place themselves on the "highest alert." But those types of warnings are too broad and do not give local police a good sense of the threats that may be facing their communities, according to Police Chief Bill Berger, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and police chief of North Miami Beach, Fla.
"A general alert is like 'crying wolf' all the time; people become desensitized to the threat, and we can't let that happen," Berger said. The government should design a more formal system of alert, similar to the military's system of threat assessment, Berger said.
In the military system, known as Threat Con, there are five levels of alert, ranging from no threat (Threat Condition Normal) to the maximum state of alert (Threat Condition Delta). The Pentagon was at Threat Con Delta when it was attacked on Sept. 11.
The Justice Department's first warning of the heightened likelihood of a threat after Sept. 11 may have helped avert a terrorist attack, said FBI Director Robert Mueller during an Oct. 29 press conference in which the department issued another general warning.
"We think it is important to put it [the warning] out there so chiefs of police and other law enforcement entities can again refocus their efforts on potential targets in their communities," Mueller said.
The warning is just a general reminder to stay vigilant, not a code that means something specific to law enforcement agencies, according to FBI spokesman Paul Bresson.
"The 'high alert' warning does not necessarily mean anything from a strategic standpoint; it's really more informal than that," said Bresson. "We want law enforcement and local communities to remain vigilant, we don't want people to slip into a comfort zone, or put down their guard," he said.
But Berger said creating categories for different threats, instead of issuing vague warnings calling on law enforcement to be on 'high alert,' would help local police better allocate their resources.
"For example, a general warning about a possible terrorist attack on bridges would be assigned a lower threat level, than, say a warning from Justice that a terrorist cell may be operating in your community, or that there may be an attack on the police facility in your community," Berger said. "We understand the need for national security," but the high alert warnings must be more specific, he said.
Berger said it is becoming increasingly difficult for local law enforcement to sustain such a high level of alertness, particularly when they only have a vague sense of the threat they are facing.
"After Sept. 11, we took the high alert warnings very seriously, gave it a 110 percent effort, and did not worry about costs at all," Berger said. "The subsequent warnings, however, have been a drain on resources."
Berger said local police are keeping watch over potential terrorist targets, including gas facilities and abortion clinics, and unanticipated costs are cropping up.
According to Berger, officials of the police chiefs association met earlier this week with Tom Ridge, director of the White House Office of Homeland Security, who was receptive to the idea of creating a specific threat assessment system for law enforcement. Next week the group will meet with FBI Director Mueller, Berger said.
"He [Mueller] is very sincere about working with all of law enforcement on this," Berger said. "We [federal and local law enforcement] need to communicate and trust each other, and the director has made overtures to work on that."
Federal agencies, including the Border Patrol, have also reallocated staff and other resources to sustain a high level of alert since Sept. 11. "We have been at the same level of alert that we went to following Sept. 11," said Nicole Chulick, a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which includes the Border Patrol. "We have not relaxed that [standard] in any way."
Border Patrol agents have been providing additional airport security since Sept. 11, and last month 110 agents from the southwest border were detailed to the northern border, Chulick said.
Although agents are working overtime, and some have had their annual leave cancelled and rescheduled, morale is high, Chulick said. "Anecdotally, morale among Border Patrol agents is good. Most see this as an opportunity to serve the country, and are willing to do whatever it takes."