AG 2001 09 17 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

CABARRUS COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN ANNEX Q TERRORISM RESPONSE OPERATIONS L PURPOSE The purpose of this annex is to provide guidance for a county government response to a terrorist incident. IL SITUATION AND ASSUMPTIONS A. Terrorism is defined as criminal threats and/or acts by individuals or groups to achieve political, social, or economic gain or recognition by fear, intimidation, coercion, or violence against the government and its citizens. There are three primary phases associated with terrorist incidents: 1. Crisis Management. The efforts to identify, acquire, and plan the use of the resources needed to anticipate, prevent, and/or resolve a threat or act of terrorism. Crisis Management is primarily a law enforcement function. It addresses the causes of a terrorist incident; the identity, motivation, and capability of the terrorists; and the types of weapons they employ. In a terrorist incident, a crisis management response may include traditional law enforcement missions such as intelligence, surveillance, tactical operations, behavioral assessment, negotiations, forensics, and investigations, as well as technical support missions such as weapon identification, deactivation, transfer and disposal of the weapon, and limited decontamination. 2. Attack. An event involving a weapon of mass destruction that effects, or has the ability to effect, large numbers of people. This event causes or has the ability to cause a significant loss of life; destruction of buildings and local infrastructure; and disruption of services or the operations of the government. Typical methods of terrorist attacks are kidnapping/hostage situations, bombings, assassinations, or hijackings. 3. Consequence Management. Consequence management responds to the impact a terrorist act has on public health, safety and the environment. Consequence management includes measures to protect public health, safety, and the environment, to restore essential government services, and to provide relief to governments, businesses, and individuals affected by the'consequences of terrorism. In an actual or potential terrorist incident, command and control of local government resources may transition between the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Department, the Fire Department having jurisdiction, EMS, and the Cabarrus County Emergency Management Office. The unified command team approach will be utilized to transition incident command and control among these agencies. B. The response to a terrorist attack must be coordinated and comprehensive. No single agency will be able to conduct this response alone. Each department will EOP/ANNEX Q 1 September 2001