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The Philadelphia Police Department's Homeland Security Bureau was established in the Spring of 2002 as a proactive response to the elevated threat of terrorism following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Although, terrorism prevention was not a new concept for Law Enforcement, the events of September 11, 2001 emphasized the need for Law Enforcement to be both first responders and first preventers in the war on terrorism.

Mission

The mission of the Philadelphia Police Department's Homeland Security Bureau is to detect, deter, prepare for, prevent, protect against and respond to all acts and threatened acts of terrorism both Domestic and International within the City of Philadelphia and surrounding counties. To this end the Homeland Security will work in true partnership will all Federal, State, and Local agencies as well as the community to efficiently and effectively enhance the safety and security of the citizens of Philadelphia.

Homeland Security Unit's Capabilities and Responsibilities

To maximize efficiency and effectiveness, the Homeland Security Unit is divided into strategic components focused on the overall mission of terrorism response and prevention.

Homeland Security Unit's Dignitary Protection

In order to ensure the safety and security of visiting dignitaries, Homeland Security's seasoned investigators work closely with all Federal, State and Local agencies providing protective security services to all Dignitaries up to and including the President of the United States, visiting the City of Philadelphia.

Homeland Security Unit's Crisis Response Teams

All members of the Homeland Security Unit are trained Crisis Negotiators and are the
Philadelphia Police Department's experts and thus responsible for the complicated task of negotiating with barricaded persons, and the management of hostage situations. All Crisis Negotiators are available 24 hours a day for crisis response.

Homeland Security Unit's Investigations

All terrorism related information as well as acts of terrorism or potential terrorism related incidents are fully investigated by experienced Homeland Security Unit investigators. These investigators work in unison with the Homeland Security Unit Investigators assigned directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force (FBI JTTF). This collaboration provides both a local and global perspectives on terrorism response and prevention.

Homeland Security Unit's Training

The Homeland Security Unit provides intensive response and prevention training to the Department's First Responders, who will be the first to arrive on the scene of a major disaster. Homeland Security Unit instructors are certified at the state or federal levels to ensure optimal results in preparedness. To enhance officer safety, training programs include proper Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) techniques, tactics and procedures as well as providing officers with indicators of potential terrorist related activity. All Homeland Security Unit training programs support the national response strategy and include Incident Command Systems (ICS), and are in compliance with the National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) and the National Response Framework.

Homeland Security Unit's Major Incident Response Team (MIRT)

The Major Incident Response Team is the Police Department's first line of defense in a major disaster or terrorist related event. These officers receive specialized training from managing a radiological incident to a natural disaster and are provided with the necessary protective equipment to be effective in major incident management. In addition, the Major Incident Response Team meets the department's short term tactical objectives by providing a specially trained rapid response team, while meeting the department's long term strategic goals of providing a regional response capability that could be deployed throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Homeland Security Unit's Critical Infrastructure Protection Programs

The Philadelphia Police Department's Homeland Security Unit works closely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in developing proactive protective strategies to ensure target hardening of critical infrastructure and critical resources. These programs are designed to enhance security while limiting the potential loss of critical services.

Homeland Security Unit's Equipment

The Homeland Security unit maintains a compilation of specialized equipment to support the overall mission of terrorism response and prevention, such as a state of the art command and control center. In addition, the Homeland Security Unit participates in the research and development of merging technologies to be able to provide the best possible tools to our first responders.

Homeland Security Unit's Community/Business Outreach Programs

It is paramount that the Philadelphia Police Department recognizes the community as first preventers in the role of crime and terrorism prevention and that both Law Enforcement and the community work in unison to enhance awareness and reduce complacency.

Members of the Homeland Security Unit are prepared to assist the community and civic groups, as well as business and private sector organizations in providing preparedness and prevention training in order to be more efficient and effective in enhancing the safety and security of our communities. Topics of training include terrorism awareness and indicators, workplace security, bomb threat procedures, suspicious mailings, recognizing explosives and proper procedures for handling packages containing an unknown substance, to name a few. All training is tailored to meet specific needs or organizational requirements.

Homeland Security Unit's Terrorism Leads and Tips Line

It is critical that the community be provided with a mechanism to report potential terrorism related activity. Successful terrorism prevention strategies include disrupting terrorist activity in the planning stages. Members of the community are the first to recognize unusual occurrences within their communities that may be indicators of potential terrorist related activity. To support the community efforts in reporting suspicious activity, each of the Twenty-Three (23) Patrol Districts throughout the city are staffed with a Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO). In addition, the Homeland Security Unit maintains a Terrorism Leads and Tips line #215-685-1170. As always in an emergency call 911.

Homeland Security Unit's Planning Section

The Homeland Security planning section provides critical threat assessments for major events throughout the city. In addition, the planning section is responsible for formulating short and long term plans to effectively respond to a major disaster or a Weapon of Mass Destruction incident. These plans are both target and agent specific and are carefully tailored to specifically address a wide variety of potential scenarios.

Homeland Security Unit's Agency Coordination

The Philadelphia Police Department's Homeland Security Unit recognizes the importance of developing true partnerships at the Federal, State and Local levels. It is critical that emergency responders meet and develop strong relationships prior to meeting the first time at an emergent event. It is also imperative that these agencies train and exercise joint and individual capabilities utilizing table top exercises, computer simulations as well as full scale training exercises. To that end the Homeland Security Unit supports all Federal, State and Local initiatives in the development of best practices in the role of terrorism response and prevention.

Captain's Bio Homeland Security Unit

Captain Walt Smith is 20 year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department and the Commanding Officer, Homeland Security Unit. He serves as the Chairman, of the Five County Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Counter Terrorism Taskforce, Law Enforcement Committee consisting of Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement agencies tasked with the responsibility of terrorism response and prevention. Capt. Smith's responsibilities include the prevention and response to potential terrorism related incidents within the City of Philadelphia as well as all Counter Terrorism initiatives, Dignitary Protection Operations, Crisis Negotiations, and the Philadelphia Police Department Investigators assigned to the Philadelphia FBI Joint Terrorism Taskforce.

Capt. Smith's duties include the development of strategies, plans and programs focused on the prevention of terrorist attacks and all hazard incidents. He coordinates the Police Department's Homeland Security initiatives and programs with all federal, state, local, civil-military and private sector entities fostering interagency cooperation and partnership development. Capt. Smith works closely with the United States Department of Homeland Security, State of Pennsylvania, Office of Homeland Security and the City of Philadelphia in Homeland Security preparedness, prevention and response initiatives. Capt. Smith has written security assessments stressing the importance of building partnerships and increasing employee awareness to deter terrorism surveillance. He has participated in various table top exercises as well as field training exercises in conjunction with FEMA, PEMA, FBI JTTF, and the U.S. Attorney

Capt. Smith is member of the Law Enforcement Liaison Council, American Society for Industrial Security, a 2002 graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Academy, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Physical Security Training program, in addition to the United States Secret Service Dignity Protection training seminar. Capt. Smith is a Pennsylvania State certified Hazardous Materials Technician; a Pennsylvania State certified Training Instructor as well as a member of the FBI Hazardous Materials Response Unit. Capt. Smith has received training from the U.S Department of Homeland Security, in Terrorist bombings, threat and risk assessment, prevention and response to suicide bombings, effective response to Weapons of Mass Destruction incidents and has recently participated in the City of Philadelphia's Emergency Preparedness Review Committee Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment known as the EPRC report.

Capt. Smith is a graduate of Eastern University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Organizational Management. Capt. Smith's previous Commands include, Commanding Officer Organized Crime/Intelligence Unit, Commanding Officer, 9th Patrol District, Commanding Officer, 5th Patrol District, Executive Officer, 6th Patrol District, and Lieutenant, Internal Affairs Division.

Source: Public Affairs Office / 03.31.08

Philadelphia Police Department Homeland Security Unit 5301 Tacony Street Arsenal Business Center Building 110; 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19137 215.685-1170 215.685-1172 FAX Philadelphia Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) C/O Federal Bureau of Investigation William J. Green Jr. Building, 8th Floor 600 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 215.418-4000 http://philadelphia.fbi.gov/ City of Philadelphia Emergency and Preparedness Response Plan http://www.phila.gov/ready/