The Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5), signed by President Bush in February 2003, mandated the development of the NIMS to ensure a coordinated Federal, State, and local response to any acts of terrorism committed in the United States. The NIMS has four main elements that law enforcement agencies need to institutionalize: (1) the incident command system (ICS); (2) standardized communications; (3) the joint information system (JIS); and (4) the NIMS Integration Center (NIC). Resources for implementing these elements are available from the Federal Government. The NIMS NIC will be responsible for overseeing the process of certification and credentialing, which will become critically important for law enforcement agencies. Beginning with Fiscal Year 2005, HSPD-5 mandates that all Federal departments and agencies require law enforcement agencies to adopt NIMS as a requirement of the provision of Federal preparedness assistance through grants, contracts, or other activities. Full compliance with all aspects of NIMS is not expected until Fiscal Year 2007. Assistance and resources for the implementation of NIMS are available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the NIC.