LA Hosts Launch of National Counter-terrorism Initiative

Los Angeles: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hosted the launch of a new federal government counter-terrorism initiative, which is designed to link local law enforcement into an information-sharing network on bombings and improvised explosive devices (IED).

The first Under Secretary for the Preparedness Directorate, part of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), George W. Forseman, introduced TRIPwire, Technical Resource for Incident Prevention, and explained its purpose. In particular, he singled out the Los Angeles region as one of the most progressive and prepared regions in the country for addressing terrorism.

"TRIPwire is exactly the kind of support local law enforcement needs from the federal level to combat and interdict terrorism," said LAPD Police Chief William Bratton. "Preventing terrorism is all about quickly connecting the dots of otherwise unconnected information and clues. TRIPwire is an example of using technology to tie the various, and mostly separate, law enforcement agencies together into a seamless crime web."

The City and County of Los Angeles, as well as the State of California, worked with DHS, and other Federal departments and agencies, on a number of national preparedness efforts. Because of this collaboration, DHS chose Los Angeles as the venue to launch TRIPwire program.

TRIPwire allows Federal, State, and local bomb-prevention professionals to share up-to-the-minute technical and operational information on the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) worldwide; and to create greater awareness on how to prevent and respond to this type of attack among the law enforcement community at large.

Other representatives at the news conference were: City Councilman Jack Weiss, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Loosle, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Commander David Betkey, and Seattle police sergeant Jim Hansen, who was representing the National Bomb Squad Commanders Advisory Board.

More information on TRIPWire can be found at www.TRIPwire-dhs.net.