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Vigilance: Patrolling in the New Era of Terrorism (DVD)

NCJ Number
208965
Author(s)
C. E. Richard; Edward C. Bull Jr.
Date Published
2004
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This DVD is intended for use in training patrol officers in how to conduct vehicle stops that will increase the likelihood that persons involved in terrorist activities will be detected.
Abstract
Following the presentation of video clips of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the terrorist bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, the narrator emphasizes the importance of vigilance at all levels of law enforcement in order to prevent future terrorist attacks. The narrator notes that terrorists are likely to use vehicle travel on the Nation's streets and highways in the course of conducting various terrorist operations in preparing for an attack. This means that patrol officers are in a strategic position to identify terrorists in the course of routine vehicle stops. Through the dramatization of a vehicle stop, the DVD portrays procedures a patrol officer should follow in order to detect warning signs that the vehicle may be carrying terrorists. The signs could include suspicious tools, chemicals, and equipment that could be linked to a planned terrorist attack. Explanations of how the Federal Government can assist patrol officers in conducting vehicle stops focus on the functions of the Federal Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) operated by the Department of Homeland Security. The TSC maintains information on all persons with links to terrorist organizations and its information can be directly accessed through the computer in a patrol vehicle. Based on information received, officers are then advised to proceed under various codes of action appropriate to the circumstances. Discussion questions are included in the DVD.