News

At the request of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the NCSP delivered the course Critical Decision Making during Crisis at the State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany, NY November 29-30, 2011. The two day course, developed by the NCSP in 2009, was delivered to over forty (40) participants from federal, state, and agencies and authorities, local law enforcement, and fire services, and not-for-profit agencies. The participants traveled from across the state, from as far away as New York City. The course is comprised of a variety of activities including instructor-led discussions, small group activities, and scenario-based simulations.

The U.S. DHS approved management level course was presented by three subject matter expert instructors affiliated with the NCSP:

• Greg Frazer, Dean of the Rangos School of Health Sciences at Duquesne University in Pittsburg, PA.
• Anthony Cresswell, Associate Director of the Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany
• Rick Mathews, Director of the NCSP.

One of the most important outcomes of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, has been the ways and means available for stopping terrorist acts. Prior to the 9/11 attacks investigating suspected terrorists and interdicting potential acts was largely akin to other investigations of suspected criminals, especially when those investigations occurred on US soil or involved US citizens. Subsequent to the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the Patriot Act. It was intended to greatly aid the nation's "war on terror." The Act, among other measures, reduced certain restrictions dealing with electronic surveillance and intelligence gathering, financial transaction records, and the detention and deportation of immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. It also expanded the definition of terrorism.

This policy forum will provide an opportunity for participants to consider these and other related issues as they pertain to counter-terrorism efforts in the U.S., through facilitated discussions among the panelists and the audience as they relate to the forum's topic.

The forum will be moderated by Jim Clark, Counsel to the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

Among the four panelists are Rick Hartunian, the U.S Attorney for the Northern District of New York, with over 20 years of prosecutorial experience; and Boris Lederer, senior subject matter expert with the National Center for Security & Preparedness who brings many years of operational experience in counter-terrorism, terrorism interdiction, and related areas on a global platform to the discussions.

Register for this event at http://www.albany.edu/rockefeller/form_911_rsvp.shtml

Director Mathews was interviewed on WCNY's The Capitol Pressrom with Susan Arbetter on Wednesday October 19, 2011. They discussed the Patriot Act and its effectiveness. Director Mathews also discussed the upcoming Policy Forum that will be presented by the National Center for Security & Preparedness and the Rockefeller Institute of Government on Thursday October 20, 2011. The interview can be found around the 23 minute mark.

Listen to audio here.

The videos have all the charm and subtlety of a government-produced presentation -- because they are. In one, an employee opens a secured door when a man walks up, arms full of boxes. The employee cheerfully lets the man in. She's a lifesaver, the man says. The employee is just glad to help.

In the other, the same scenario is presented. The man with the boxes asks the employee if she can let him in. But this time the employee tells the man she's sorry, she can't do that. She then abruptly goes in herself and closes the door behind her.

The videos, part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency course on workplace security awareness, stress the importance of keeping secure areas secure.

The experts say everyone, from rank-and-file workers to security guards, should be aware of the need for a secure workplace. And policies aimed at keeping the workplace safe must be followed by everyone

An example of what could happen when policies are disregarded occurred last weekend at the offices of The Daily Gazette, when a security guard allowed an unknown man into the building so he could get a drink of water.

That act of kindness violated the newspaper's weekend policy barring anyone without an access code from entering the building. It also set off a chain of events that ended when police shot the man, who they said had a knife and lunged at an officer with it.

The man's actions, police later concluded, was an attempt on his part to commit suicide by forcing the police to shoot him. The man survived and has since been charged.

Security Policy

It's a prime example, experts say, of what can happen when security policies aren't followed. Businesses, they say, must have clear policies and ensure that those policies are followed.

"Sometimes things seem cumbersome," said Jeff Flint, executive director of the National Association of Security Companies, an industry group. "But an incident happening like this is why those procedures are in place, and it's important to follow them every time."

Making sure a business or office building is secure is an ongoing struggle, experts say. It's not only a matter of ensuring security procedures are followed, but balancing those with the courteous handling of customers and others who come to conduct business.

An important aspect of security is proper training, and refreshing that training through discussion of possible scenarios, experts said. What happens if this happens? What happens if that happens?

There are also physical barriers that can be put in place to control access to most of a building, and there are ways to monitor and control access.

But even those methods can fail when the human element is introduced, experts said.

Rick Mathews, director of the National Center for Security & Preparedness at the University at Albany, suggested it's precisely the weaknesses in the system, like the kindness of individuals, that intruders look for.

"A policy is only as good as people who enforce them," Mathews said. Employees going through secure doors can't let others go with them, even if their visit is for seemingly legitimate purposes, he said.

"There can't be exceptions," Mathews said. "When there are exceptions to a rule, bad guys will exploit the exception."

Human Element

It's that human element that introduces much of the risk, said Harry Buffardi, former Schenectady County sheriff and now an assistant professor in the Schenectady County Community College criminal justice program.

It's possible to eliminate the human element altogether, Buffardi said, but not for a business that depends on customer traffic. An ATM, he noted, is a pretty secure banking outlet, but it's not very good at customer service.

To minimize the risk that human element introduces, Buffardi said there must be clear training on what the policies are and what the potentials are if those policies are not followed.

Every business must assess its own security needs, from the building to the landscape to technology. There must be protocol for who can enter what area and why, and there should be drills or discussions about what would happen in different situations.

"It's almost impossible to prevent all possible circumstances," Buffardi said. But he said you can limit a business' exposure.

Flint, of the security companies trade group, echoed the need for a review to balance security and the needs for access by the public.

For security guards, Flint said it's important they get constant reminders and training on the procedures for the facility where they're working.

"The only defense against [a security breach] is having the proper procedure, constant training and reminding yourself why those procedures exist and of the importance to follow them every time."

At The Daily Gazette, management is reviewing all those things.

The security guard who let the man in was immediately replaced. The paper is also reviewing its security company itself, meeting with others last week, General Manager Daniel Beck said.

Beck saw the consequences of the security breach firsthand. He was called to the office by the security guard and later witnessed the shooting. The incident, he said, put employee safety at risk and was a serious breach of security.

"You can't put a price on a person's safety," Beck said. "It's just something that the company is committed to, keeping its employees safe."

"If we told everyone about all our procedures and tactics, we'd be giving away the shot," he said.

Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.net.

Memo:
On the Web
The Federal Emerency Management Agency offers an online course on Workplace Safety Awareness. The course takes about an hour to complete and can be found at http://emilms.fema.gov/is906/index.htm
Copyright (c) 2011 The Daily Gazette Co. All Rights Reserved.

Source: The Daily Gazette (Schenectady)

Elmhurst — In August, as the city was scrambling to prepare for what many were predicting to be a potentially devastating hurricane, controversy arose over what was otherwise an innocuous answer at a press conference: There would be no evacuation of Rikers Island, Mayor Bloomberg said.

After a prisoner advocacy blog called Solitary Watch posted something about the mayor's announcement—drawing comparisons to stranded prisoners left behind in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina—a number of other websites followed suit, along with a few traditional news outlets. Twitter users caught on shortly after; a petition demanding the city take action was circulated. Many were struck by the fact that while the city was shutting down its transportation system and making other unprecedented storm plans, the some 14,000 people housed on Rikers Island would stay put.

Irene came and went, however, and with a wet whimper instead of a bang. The ten jail facilities on Rikers came through unscathed, as the mayor's office and the Department of Correction repeatedly said they would, and it seems as though the jail was never in any real danger from the storm to begin with. But the incident raised a question that received little public attention before: how the city would deal with the tens of thousands of inmates on Rikers, an island accessible by only one bridge, should an emergency arise.

"Whether they had to evacuate Rikers or not during Irene, they'll have to evacuate eventually," says Dr. Irwin Redlener, director at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "The key point is, do they have an effective evacuation plan at the jail? And to my impression they do not."

A no-flood zone?

The Office of Emergency Management's hurricane evacuation map color-codes low-lying areas as either Zone A, B, or C—from the highest risk of flooding from a hurricane storm surge to the lowest risk. Rikers, 96 acres nestled in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, is shown as all white, meaning at no risk of flooding.

"The vast majority of Rikers Island is located in a No Flood Zone," Department of Correction spokeswoman Sharmen Stein wrote in an e-mail.

"Only one facility is located in Zone C—the first floor of that one jail may be vulnerable to some flooding, but is not susceptible to loss of life. In that instance, the inmates and staff assigned to the first floor would be relocated to higher floors in the jail, or moved temporarily to other facilities on Rikers Island. It is only a narrow portion of the outer perimeter of the island—where there are no jails—that might be vulnerable to flooding, even in a Category 4 hurricane."

Klaus Jacob, a research scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and a member of the mayor's New York City Panel on Climate Change, says that in the event of a 100-year storm—a magnitude of storm that, statistically speaking, has a one percent chance of happening in a given year—"only a small fringe of the island" would flood.

He added that New York State emergency maps, like the city's map, show portions of the island at risk of flooding should a category 3 or 4 hurricane occur, while other portions of the are shown as above any flood zone.

"It seems understandable that an evacuation was not warranted for Irene since it did not make a hurricane category 1, nor did it make a 100-year storm," Jacob says. Indeed, Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit New York.

An enormous undertaking

The decision to evacuate a correctional facility, experts say, is a tremendously complicated one, dependent on a number of factors and hypothetical situations.

"The evacuation plan is going to be based upon the speed they need [to move], how much time they have, the resources they need to make it happen," says Rick Mathews, Director of the National Center for Security and Preparedness at SUNY Albany. "Where are you going to take them to? How far away?"

Stein, at the DOC, denied previous news reports that the department has no evacuation plan for the facilities on Rikers, insisting that the department is "continually reviewing and refining its contingency plans," and that these include the consideration of both small scale relocations and an evacuation of the entire population of the island, if need be. She would not comment on specifically where inmates would be transferred to in that case, citing security reasons.

"We would relocate as much of the population as the situation requires," Stein wrote in an e-mail.

Martin Horn, former commissioner at the DOC who left the department in 2009 for a teaching position at John Jay College, says that the department met with the OEM following Hurricane Katrina to revamp its emergency plans. These included evacuation, he says, but under extreme circumstances.

"[We] concluded that it would be a very, very difficult exercise, and it would take a more severe storm than what we experienced this time," Horn explains. "Getting tens of thousands of inmates off of Rikers Island is an enormous undertaking, and not something you do quietly."

An evacuation of that magnitude would take, at a minimum, 48 hours to carry out, Horn estimates. The realistic difficulties of carrying out such a task, he says, led the department to conclude that a "defend in place" plan is the most viable, with the possible evacuation of more vulnerable inmates—the elderly, ill, or expectant mothers. At any given time, Rikers is equipped with enough fuel and food to self sustain for at least seven days, he says.

According to Mathews, the risks posed by a large-scale evacuation can sometimes outweigh the benefits, making staying put the better option, if it's a viable one.

"A lot of these facilities, particularly correctional facilities, because they're designed to keep people in and secure, are much more stable. They're able to withstand assaults like a category 1 storm," he says. "A lot of the times it's safer to shelter in place than to risk the movement."

Spread the Risk

In a post-9/11 world filled with hypothetical worst case scenarios, Rikers Island seems especially at risk for emergency, considering its large population, the fact that there's only one route in and off of the island and its proximity to LaGuardia Airport.

"Rikers, because of its physical location, and the logistics with respect to getting to and getting from the island being so fragile, puts it in a really special category," says Redlener. "Not only is it a vulnerable population but it's also in a vulnerable location with a lot of unusual challenges."

"My worst fear always was something at LaGuardia," says Horn. "My worst-case scenario was some sort of explosion, and fumes drifting over."

During his time as commissioner, Horn wanted to reduce the population of Rikers Island, transferring inmates to jails in the other boroughs, to locations more easily accessible.

"I felt it was better to distribute the risk," he explains.

For several years, the city planned to open a 2,000-plus bed jail facility in the South Bronx to absorb that number of inmates from Rikers. Plans for the proposed Oak Point Detention Center were officially squashed in 2008, however, after opposition from local groups and elected officials.

Another plan, to expand the recently reopened Brooklyn Detention Center to nearly double its capacity, was also dropped last summer after a firestorm of criticism. The DOC's most recent plans call for the Brooklyn facility, and another in Kew Gardens, Queens, to be "fully utilized," but not expanded.

Mathews also said that some secrecy is necessary.

The construction of a new, 1,500-bed jail on Rikers is being planned for completion in 2017, and several older buildings will be taken down with its opening—ultimately reducing the capacity at Rikers by around 3,000 inmates, according to the DOC.

Source: http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/4449/hurricane-passes-but-worries-about-rikers-evacuation-remain

A decade has passed since Sept. 11, 2001, but the events of that day have never faded from the nation's consciousness. The response to the terrorist attacks was immediate, large-scale and long-lasting.

Our public policy continues to be shaped and influenced by the tragedy that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, while many of our political debates revolve around issues stemming from 9/11. Headlines about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, protests in the Middle East, security measures in airports, immigration and even government debt remind us, in ways that are both explicit and implicit, of September 11.

After 9/11, safety and security became the paramount concern.

While many argue that the security enhancements made after September 11 were necessary, others have suggested that the cost was too high, and that the consequence has been an unprecedented erosion of our civil rights. The result has been an ongoing debate over which changes were necessary to ensure our safety, and which have crossed the line.

"This is a country where we're fiercely independent," said Rick Mathews, director of the National Center for Security and Preparedness at Rockefeller College in Albany. "We're free. We like our lifestyle here. But we're also pretty vulnerable, if a bad guy wants to do something. So we have to balance safety with our constitutional rights. We're still working through those issues. It's a major cultural change, and I think it's going to continue for a generation."

Mathews said that the response to 9/11 has been appropriate, and that the increased security and more aggressive surveillance has prevented attacks.

"Most of the public doesn't have a clue how many times we've stopped bad people from doing bad things," Mathews said. "Terrorists plan long-term. They want to get us to a mindset where we're apathetic."

Dissent

Not everyone believes the response to 9/11 was appropriate.

After 9/11, "People were willing to say, 'Take away my rights,' " said Leonard Cutler, a professor of public law at Siena College who has written two 9/11-related books. "That concerns me."

"When you compromise the legal rights granted to you by the Constitution, it raises real questions," Cutler said. "I am opposed to sacrificing that which we are entitled to for national security purposes."

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 marked the first time American civilians had been murdered en masse by a foreign enemy on their own soil. Though sometimes compared to the attack on Pearl Harbor, most experts see key differences between the two events: the attack on Pearl Harbor targeted the military, and was carried out by a known enemy, as opposed to a shadowy, stateless terrorist organization that few Americans had ever heard of.

The attacks made Americans feel sad, fearful, anxious and angry, and those feelings still exist today, as the raw outpourings of emotion at the news of Osama bin Laden's death earlier this year showed. This lingering fear explains why Americans have voiced little protest as their privacy rights have diminished, experts said.

Sheldon Solomon, a professor of psychology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs and co-author of the 2003 book "In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror," recently wrote a piece about the 10th anniversary of 9/11 for the Chronicle of Higher Education. In the piece, titled "Death," Solomon writes that Sept. 11 was all about death, saying, "September 11 tore a gaping hole in the collectively woven American cultural tapestry, stripping us of our shield against terror, exposing us naked to the nightmare of death; a nightmare (to adapt a phrase from James Joyce) from which we have yet to awaken." The images of the attacks, he writes, reminded Americans of their "own vulnerability and mortality."

Solomon writes that Americans initially responded to 9/11 with "extraordinary compassion," but that "lingering fears of death also stoked hatred, righteous indignation and demands for lethal vengeance." At the same time, they also spent much of the past decade numbing themselves to their fears by gambling, watching TV, drinking and doing drugs, he said. "There's been too much denial of death and not enough affirmation of life," he wrote.

Sense of Gloom

Solomon said that Americans' feelings of gloom have been enhanced by continuing bad news -- the collapse of the economy in 2008, the ongoing wars, the debate over the debt ceiling, high rates of joblessness. He said that if the country was doing better, the 10th anniversary of September 11 might be less psychologically distressing; instead, it will likely reinforce the pain and terror people felt that day.

Solomon has conducted experiments showing that when people were reminded of death or 9/11, they were more likely to support former President George W. Bush. He said that the 10th anniversary would provide an opportunity for politicians to exploit 9/11 all over again. "I do think some of the same anti-Islamic sentiments and 'Go America' sentiments will be raised," he said. "The idea that you're with us or against us will be raised."

There has not been a second terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11, but Americans continue to worry about the possibility of such an attack, experts said.

"I think before [Sept. 11] Americans thought terrorist attacks happened elsewhere," said Richard Lachman, a professor of sociology at the University at Albany. "Even though there hasn't been another terrorist attack, and 100 times as many people are killed in car accidents each year, people are more nervous." The attack on 9/11 "was different from anything that happened in the U.S. before," he said. "It was a really spectacular attack in the worst sort of way. It's gotten constant attention, and it was exploited by the Bush administration."

Policy-wise, the biggest changes since Sept. 11 have occurred in the area of civil liberties and national security. Today, the emphasis is on preventing future terrorist attacks, rather than investigating and prosecuting past crimes.

After 9/11, the controversial Patriot Act, which expanded the authority of American law enforcement for the purpose of fighting terrorism, was passed, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created. The use of torture had long been banned by the U.S., but techniques such as water boarding and enhanced interrogation were used on terror suspects, although President Barack Obama later banned such practices. The National Security Agency began eavesdropping on people living within the U.S. without obtaining warrants, something the agency had never done before and that civil liberties groups decried as illegal.

Aggressive Policing

In the Capital Region, residents got an up-close look at one of the government's new prevention-fighting strategies when two Muslim men were arrested in a sting operation and charged with conspiring to aid a terrorist organization. The entire scheme was orchestrated by an FBI informant, and critics complained that neither man would have gotten involved in the scheme if not for the manipulation of the FBI informant. But both were found guilty, and officials hailed the case as a successful terrorism-prevention effort.

New information about how the war on terror is fought continues to surface.

Last month, news reports informed the public of how the CIA has helped transform the New York Police Department into one of the most aggressive domestic intelligence agencies in the country; as part of a human mapping program, the department has sent undercover officers, known as "rakers," into minority neighborhoods, where they've monitored bookstores, bars, cafes and mosques.

Mathews said the Patriot Act enabled "law enforcement to go after suspected terrorists much, much earlier, before crimes are committed."

He said the bombing of Oklahoma City in 1995 inspired law enforcement agencies to rethink how they approached terrorism -- "we realized we weren't prepared to respond to weapons of mass destruction and terrorist acts -- and that those efforts accelerated after 9/11. One big change entails teaching responders about how terrorists think and plan for attacks.

Mathews said that today's terrorists are much more likely to work alone than in the past; the 9/11 terrorists, for instance, operated in cells. "They're using handguns and smaller weapons," he said. "So now we're having to train again, and change our practices and procedures to respond to these changes." Mathews said terrorists are always looking for new ways to attack or intimidate people, which keeps law enforcement and responders on their toes.

"It's an evolving thing," Mathews said.

Mathews also said that some secrecy is necessary.

"If we told everyone about all our procedures and tactics, we'd be giving away the shot," he said.

CIA Role

Cutler said news of the partnership between the NYPD and CIA disturbed him. "The CIA is not a domestic agency," he said. "Serious questions have to be raised." He said one of the more troubling developments since 9/11 "has been the Kafkaesque notion of holding individuals in detention indefinitely, and not telling them why they're being held."

When Obama was elected, he promised to end many of the Bush tactics used in the war on terror; one of his biggest promises was to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, where terror suspects have been detained without trial for years. But that didn't happen, and for the most part Obama has continued the practices of his predecessor. Critics said this has legitimized those tactics, and made them a more official and established part of U.S. policy.

The American Civil Liberties Union recently released a report titled "A Call to Courage: Reclaiming Our Liberties Ten Years After 9/11," in which the group argues that too much has been sacrificed in the name of national security.

Melane Trimble, executive director of the Capital Region chapter of the ACLU, said the ACLU has been trying to educate the public about civil liberties and the changes of the past 10 years.

"The ACLU is here to tell people there's a need for balance," she said. She said the public has been too willing to give up rights in exchange for safety, but that this is changing. "Ten years later, people are able to look at what was a rational response to 9/11 and what was not," she said.

Source: Schenectady Gazette

Senators Reintroduce Legislation to Include SUNY's National Center for Security Preparedness in NDPC, Program Boasts Unique Expertise In Biological Hazards and Infrastructure Protection, Invaluable Addition to Seven-Member Organization

Legislation Would Allow SUNY to Develop and Deliver DHS- Certified National Program Unique to NDPC; Program Would Focus On Intelligence, Infrastructure Protection, Information Sharing and Critical Decision Making

Schumer, Gillibrand: SUNY's Participation In National Consortium A Win-Win For New York and Emergency Personnel Nationwide

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand reintroduced legislation to make the State University of New York (SUNY) a member of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), a partnership of several organizations meant to enhance the emergency preparedness of federal, state, local, and nongovernmental emergency responders and counter-terrorism teams. The NDPC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Preparedness Directorate and has a 12 year history of substantial improvements to national preparedness. SUNY's inclusion in the consortium would contribute considerable security training and research expertise to the NDPC, and would fill a geographic void as the NDPC currently lacks a member organization in the northeast. Schumer and Gillibrand note that currently, SUNY's National Center for Security and Preparedness (NCSP) trains emergency personal and first-responders throughout the state on how to protect infrastructure and respond to biological hazards, and his legislation would allow NCSP to share their expertise on a national level.

"The inclusion of SUNY's National Center for Security and Preparedness in this national consortium would be a win-win for New Yorkers and emergency personnel nationwide," said Schumer. "The NCSP would have the resources to expand its preparedness training and educational programs for New York emergency personnel, while also extending the reach of their expertise to emergency responders and counter-terrorism teams across the country. At a time when the United States' must have the highest level of counter-terrorism preparedness, the nation has a lot to learn from the NCSP's expertise in protecting infrastructure and responding to biological hazards."

"New York knows better than any the threats we face," Senator Gillibrand said. "SUNY is home to cutting edge research and innovation that can provide great improvements to America's preparedness – whether for a terrorist attack or responding to natural disasters. Adding SUNY to the NDPC will help give our first responders the tools and training they need to keep more Americans safe, and save lives."

"The addition of the National Center for Security & Preparedness at the University at Albany State University of New York will expand the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium with a center in the northeastern region of nation and will expand this premier consortium's capabilities in the areas of intelligence, information sharing, and terrorism interdiction," said Rick Matthews, the Director of the National Center for Security & Preparedness. "The relationship of the Center with the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services will also enable national level scenario-based, high-performance terrorism interdiction training to be brought to the Sate Preparedness Training Center in central New York."

SUNY's National Center for Security and Preparedness trains emergency personnel throughout the state to protect infrastructure and respond to biological hazards, and would join seven existing member organizations if added through this legislation. Currently, the NDPC has seven member organizations including the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Alabama, the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) at New Mexico Tech, the National Center for BioMedical Research and Training (NCBRT) at Louisiana State University, the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) at Texas A&M, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaii, the Counter Terrorism Operations Support (CTOS)/the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in North Las Vegas, and the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. in Pueblo, Colorado. Between these seven members, the NDPC trains federal, state, local, tribal, and nongovernmental groups in emergency response techniques and disaster preparedness strategies that reduce vulnerability to criminal and terrorist incidents. Each facility has a specific role in ensuring the preparedness of our nation's first responders. Since 1998, the Consortium has trained 750,000 people.

SUNY would be the first member organization from the northeast. Schumer and Gillibrand's legislation will integrate the National Center for Security and Preparedness, a subset of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University of Albany, into the NDPC. The Center, though located in Albany, is a combined effort of all 64 SUNY campuses, and will create a program focused on intelligence, infrastructure protection and analysis, information sharing, and critical decision-making – areas that none of the NDPC's current member organizations currently address.

The legislation would provide the center with $5 million for administrative and technical efforts related to the development and delivery of a Department of Homeland Security certified course that will train critical infrastructure protection analysts. There is a pressing need to provide technical training to those professionals engaged at federal, state, and local levels in analytical techniques and processes necessary to conduct risk assessments and analysis, including simulations and modeling, of the infrastructure identified as critical by national, state, or local security officials.

The senators state that SUNY NCSP's inclusion in the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium would be a win-win, allowing SUNY to expand its preparedness training and educational programs in New York, while sharing their incredible expertise with emergency personnel nationwide. SUNY being the largest higher-education system in the nation, with proximity to thousands of first response organizations and a population of tens of millions, would make the NCSP an invaluable NDPC member.

Source: http://schumer.senate.gov/Newsroom/record.cfm?id=333291

While the death of Osama bin Laden sparked celebrations for some, for others, it brought fears of reprisal attacks. YNN's Solomon Syed headed to Albany International Airport to find out how travelers are feeling about flying, and how security personnel are handling the heightened threat level.

COLONIE, N.Y. -- He may be dead, but the result of Osama Bin Laden's legacy's on full display at the Albany International Airport includes long lines at security and on-going TSA pat downs in attempt to prevent another 9/11 from ever happening again.

"Well, I've always felt just as safe as ever," said traveler Ruth Masiewicz.

Those sentiments echoed by many in the terminal; they feel just as safe Monday as they ever have. Airport spokesman Doug Myers said everything is normal despite the elevated security level, but counterterrorism experts say bin Laden's death could also elevate al Qaeda's efforts.

"Al Qaeda's a network. It's not like an organization with a single CEO and always following simple directives," said Rick Mathews, who founded UAlbany's National Center for Security and Preparedness. He helps train New York State's Homeland Security agents.

He said, "It's reasonable to expect that al Qaeda operatives or cells will try to exact some revenge, if you will."

And at least one flyer feared some bin Laden backlash.

"I felt less safe to be honest," said Tyler Flynn. "I didn't know if his people were gonna do anything about it so I kinda felt less safe."

But others are confident it's just too soon for a coordinated attack.

"I don't think you can get a ticket and get organized that fast," said traveler Lee Moore. "I think there would be more chance in getting hurt in some mall or something like that."

Mathews agrees that malls and other so-called soft targets with minimal security are at greater future risk than airports. But much like the small pieces of information that led to bin Laden's death, he said people should stay vigilant.

"They should be alert for their surroundings, something that looks to be different or out of place, unusual behaviors, and then like we say, if you see anything unusual, say something," said Mathews.

And what Mathews refers to there has turned into the statewide "see something, say something" campaign. He stresses how important that is because given how long it took to find bin Laden, given the intelligence network we have, it shows just how complex al Qaeda really is and how much help authorities need in stopping terror plots.

Source: http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/541964/how-has-bin-laden-s-death-impacted-security

The NCSP continues to work with executives from NTT Data, Japan's largest IT systems integrator through Dynamic Strategies Asia (Washington, DC) as they develop their homeland security related initiatives in Japan and elsewhere across the globe. The NCSP’s efforts are significantly supported by the Center for Technology (CTG) in Government (UAlbany). Pictured is Director Rick C. Mathews and CTG Director Theresa Pardo, along with executives from NTT Data: Hidechika Miyaji, Shoji Nakaniwa, and Atsushi Ogawa, as well as Andrew Saidel (President & CEO, Dynamic Strategies Asia, LC). Also pictured is an interpreter. Not pictured is Anthony Cresswell of CTG.

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. -- There was a brief scare Thursday night after police were notified of a suspicious car with gas cans in it near Union Square.

Part of the area was evacuated, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Meanwhile, three Pakistani men were arrested Thursday in a series of raids across the Northeast in connection with the failed Times Square bombing.

Last night's scare is a clear indication that tensions remain high in New York City after the attempted bombing in Times Square.

In fact, the NYPD has reported a 30 percent jump in suspicious package and vehicle calls in the last two weeks.

And yesterday's false alarm comes as the feds round up people believed to be connected to Times Square suspect Faisal Shazad.

A local terrorism expert isn't surprised by any of this.

Rick Mathews, the director of the national center for security and preparedness at University at Albany says New York Police and the FBI will be looking for anyone who has a connection or info about the alleged bomb maker.

"Understanding he admitted himself he had training in Pakistan and came back. Obviously he was taught to do some things," Mathews said. "I think it's speculative to think it is a network if any. I think it's fair to say he knew some people and that is what it is all about."

Later today, Mathews is hosting a class in Oneida County to examine the New York City incident, how the bomb was made and Faisal Shazad's activities prior to placing the bomb in Times Square.

Source: http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=12481060

New York's two Democratic senators, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, have introduced legislation that would "enhance" the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, a group of seven education and training centers across the U.S. that focus on security matters, by adding an eighth member to the consortium, the State University of New York's National Center for Security and Preparedness.

"The SUNY campuses provide extraordinary capabilities to help the Nation in the areas of intelligence, infrastructure protection analysis, information sharing, and critical decision making," says the proposed legislation, S. 3236, which the senators introduced on April 21.

The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), a professional alliance sponsored through the National Preparedness Directorate at DHS, is made up of seven members, including the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, AL; the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech); Louisiana State University's Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education (National Center for Biomedical Research and Training); Texas A&M University National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (TEEX); the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site (NTS); the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI); and the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaii (NDPTC).

Each of these organizations has distinguished themselves nationally as experts in chemicals, explosives, radiological/nuclear devices, bioterrorism, counter-terrorism, agro-terrorism, and emergency management systems, says the Consortium's Web site.

SUNY's National Center for Security and Preparedness helps leverage the resources of all 64 SUNY campuses to develop homeland security training and apply SUNY's homeland security research, says the legislation.

The measure was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Source: http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/20593

Today we welcome Rick Mathews, Director of the National Center for Security and Preparedness. Rick discusses airport security and other issues with WAMC listeners. Host: Alan Chartock.

Listen to audio here.

Source: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1595740/news/Homeland.and.Airport.Security