By Gregory C. Hill
Mayor, Redondo Beach, CA
September 8, 2003

Within two weeks of the attacks of September 11-01, Mayor Gregory C. Hill and the City of Redondo Beach leadership saw the need to address the possibilities of a terrorist threat, so they designed a program with two goals in mind. First, it should integrate with and fully complement existing or emerging efforts at the federal, state and local levels — avoiding duplication of effort. Second, it should be capable of examining and developing a response to Redondo Beach's unique needs.

To achieve these goals city leadership elected a regional approach involving nine different municipal jurisdictions and coordinated by the South Bay Police Chiefs (Representing the Los Angeles County communities of Inglewood, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Palos Verde's Estates, Torrance, Gardena and Hawthorne). These communities represent some 900,000 residents served by about 1,000 law enforcement officers.

The Chiefs appointed a Terrorism Advisory Committee made up of five individuals. Those individuals identified areas of concern for local jurisdictions as it related to homeland security preparation. Examples of the areas looked at were: task force participation, cyber terrorism, explosive device detection, training, resources, SWAT and special unit response capabilities, information sharing and analysis, and communication. For each of these areas of concern subject matter experts were selected from throughout the region. The experts conducted comprehensive studies into each area of concern making written recommendations to the area Chiefs as to what level of involvement they felt would be appropriate for the local response.

Upon completion of the final document, a 67-page report with specific recommendations was presented to the South Bay Chiefs for action. Certain items were recommended for regional implementation while others, such as potential target threat assessments, were left up to individual jurisdictions. In addition, there is full time participation in the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force by two agencies and the State Terrorism Task Force has one agency. Training was developed and offered in terrorism awareness, threat assessments, incident command system, terrorism investigation and weapon of mass destruction response. Acquisition of equipment included explosive detection K-9's and personal protective equipment for weapon of mass destruction response.

The Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO) serves as the key link for each agency in all matters related to terrorism. Each city in the region identified has assigned such an officer. In addition, representatives from the agency worked with the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission to create a 24-hour course to train these TLO's. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department heard about the TLO program and worked with representatives from our department to institute this program county-wide. To date, virtually every agency in Los Angeles County including the Sheriffs Department and Los Angeles PD has appointed TLO's.

The Redondo Beach program was identified by California POST as a model program and was featured in an Executive Seminar as a "Best Practice" throughout the state. The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) also identified the program as a "Best Practice" and featured it in a publication entitled PROTECTING YOUR COMMUNITY FROM TERRORISM: STRATEGIES FOR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT that was produced jointly with U.S. DOJ COPS office. Representatives from our department also presented the program as a "Best Practice" at the 2003 COPS conference in Washington, D.C.

The program's efforts are aimed at prevention and response (or preparation for response). Investigators in the various task forces and other personnel working in support of those task forces have been involved in over 150 investigations of suspected terrorist activity since 9-11-01.

In the preparation arena, they have conducted comprehensive threat assessments, compiled contingency plans, acquired equipment (often without impacting the city budget,) and conducted training in a wide variety of terrorism related subjects for the officers, city personnel and the public.

The City of Redondo Beach has been able to implement the program without impacting the budget. They have created no new line items. By re-allocating personnel they have been able to staff the task force positions, equipment has been purchased through grants or has been donated by a non-profit corporation that was formed as a result of the program.

This is a citywide program. The Redondo Beach Police Department has worked extensively with the fire department and public works in conducting the threat assessments and contingency plans. Training has also been jointly conducted with fire, police, public works and city administrative personnel receiving varying levels of specific training. In addition, the Homeland Security Committee has provided training for citizens on emergency response techniques. The police department has also conducted numerous public speaking engagements, including regular presentations at the citizen's police academy.

Some results of the program are:

• Two members of the department traveled to Northern Ireland (at no cost to the city, but on city time) to study policing against terrorism in a democratic society.
• The Joint Terrorism Task Force representative spent time in Cuba with the FBI interviewing detainees at Camp X-Ray.

Suggestions for mayors interested in replicating a program are:

• Make it clear the program is important to you (the mayor) and provide clear and consistent support directly from the top.
• Personnel selection is a paramount consideration. Don't just assign the program to anyone. Find out who has a real interest and will stick with it over the long term. It is often frustrating and tedious and unless the program director has real passion for the subject that frustration can be overwhelming.

Lt. John Skipper
Redondo Beach Police Department
401 Diamond St.
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Phone: (310) 379-2477 ext. 2334
Fax: (310) 374-7710