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"Community Introduction to the East Bay Terrorism Early Warning Group"

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Terrorism Early Warning Groups (TEWG’s)
Are multi-agency, multi-disciplinary teams created to use broadly-shared information and other tools to create responses designed to mitigate threats posed by terrorism at the local and regional levels. Attributes and advantages of TEWG’s are:
 

• They are scalable and adaptable. Opportunities exist for them to be developed and grown to reflect the needs of the communities and geographies they serve;
• They leverage information, relationships and resources – partnerships strengthened by the inclusion of different disciplines and agencies in both the public and private sectors can foster the creation of wide-band, coordinated, counter-terrorism networks;
• They serve as critical regional linking pins organized to strengthen systems of vertical and horizontal information sharing among federal, state, county and local public safety agencies and public infrastructure entities, which allow all involved to see a clearer and instant picture of potential terrorist threats.

Why Terrorism Early Warning Groups Are Necessary
Ultimately, responsibility for preparing for, mitigating against, responding to and recovering from terrorist activity rests with local and regional authorities, the communities they serve and critical infrastructure partners – ALL TERRORISM, LIKE CRIME, IS A LOCAL ISSUE!

Leveraging resources and experiences through the use of scalable groups and partnerships provides the opportunity to greatly increase our collective response capabilities.

TEWG’s fill an important gap in our quest to improve communications between federal, state, regional and local governments, key infrastructure entities and the communities they service.

The East Bay Terrorism Early Warning Group
Is a joint venture between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and the City of Oakland.
The group serves as the region’s hub for gathering, analyzing and disseminating information which may pertain to terrorist threats. The group uses an “enrichment” system marked by the imperative to immediately pass information it receives to all relevant constituents, liaisons and contacts so that all view and add to it based upon experiences with involved subjects, methods of operations, and events described in the disseminations. In this way, critical and also seemingly innocuous information can be added to in order to create clearer pictures of potential threats.

Coupled with its informational work, the group also 1) engages with public and private entities and communities across its operational area – working through its network of liaison officers, to complete threat assessments on critical infrastructure along with mitigation and response plans, 2) presents and sponsors training, and 3) completes special research projects – among many other activities. The group strives to serve as a platform and catalyst to enhance local/region-wide preparation for, mitigation against, response to and recovery from terrorist activity.

The group is designed to be comprised of representatives from public safety agencies, the emergency medical and public health sector and non-governmental infrastructure entities. It is supported by extensive networks of Terrorism Liaison Officers culled from these same groups across Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.

At present, the group is comprised of a Coordinator and Duty Officer provided by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, a Duty Officer and Analyst provided by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, and a Duty Officer provided by the Oakland Fire Department.
 

Community Policing and Terrorism

"A great deal of the responsibility for preparing for and responding to terrorist events rests with local police departments. Community policing presents an overarching philosophical orientation that agencies can use to better deal with the threat of terrorist events and the fear that they may create....It emphasizes active problem solving and .... partnerships to address issues that concern both the police and citizens .... The philosophy is well positioned to play a central role in local law enforcement responses to terrorism."

Matthew Scheider

Robert Chapman

www.homelandsecurity.org

April 2003