As the first to develop a statewide homeland security strategy (2003), Arizona has been a leader on homeland security efforts.
Arizona 's homeland security strategy identifies ten action items and five priorities. The priorities are:
- Enhance Arizona’s information sharing and systems to expand and maintain assessment and detection capabilities
- Further enhance prevention and regional collaboration in sustaining homeland security programs
- Bolster border security by strengthening partnerships with federal, state, tribal, local and international stakeholders
- Bolster emergency preparedness, response and recovery planning capabilities while protecting first responders
- Support national strategy for homeland security and National Preparedness Goal
Federal homeland security funds are intended to enhance the protection of Arizona’s residents and critical infrastructure from potential terrorist attacks and other significant hazards. Although the primary focus of federal homeland security dollars continues to be terrorism prevention and response, these funds may be used to prepare for and respond to all emergency and disaster situations, whether terrorist incidents or natural disasters such as floods and wildfires.
Arizona ’s homeland security projects dovetail with the eight national priorities as identified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These priorities include:
- Implement the National Incident Management System and National Response Plan (NRP)
- Expand Regional Collaboration
- Implement the Interim National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)
- Strengthen Information Sharing and Collaboration Capabilities
- Strengthen Interoperable Communications Capabilities
- Strengthen CBRNE Detection, Response and Decontamination Capabilities
- Strengthen Medical Surge and mass Prophylaxis Capabilities
- Strengthen planning and citizen preparedness capabilities
In Arizona, eighty percent of federal homeland security grants fund local and regional projects. The State has also dedicated grant funds to enhance protection and response capabilities statewide.
Priority projects in Arizona include:
- Personal Protective Equipment for First Responders . One of Arizona’s priority homeland security initiatives is providing its firefighter, police, emergency managers, public safety personnel and other first responders with the equipment they need to safely enter dangerous situations.
- Rapid Response Teams. Arizona has used federal funding to train and equip Rapid Response Teams. Strategically located throughout the state Arizona’s 11 RRTs can provide immediate incident response to support local response efforts. RRT members are trained to work with hazardous materials and bomb units, and perform technical rescue operations.
- Arizona ’s Intelligence Fusion Center. Governor Napolitano dedicated the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC) in 2004 as the state’s central analysis hub for real-time crime and terrorism-related intelligence and information, staffed with more than 200 detectives, special agents, analysts and other personnel representing more than 34 states, local and federal agencies. ACTIC was the first state fusion center to include complete integration of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
- Improving Ability for First Responders to Communicate. In the state’s southern counties, homeland security grants have enabled public safety officials and emergency responders along the border to communicate with one another during emergencies, despite disparate radios. Additionally, five mobile communications vans are pre-positioned throughout the state to address radio communications interoperability statewide. Additional ongoing interoperability efforts include the upgrading of existing radio towers and the installation of audio bridges and “patching” technology.
- Training and Exercises. Arizona conducts some of the largest and most robust training exercises in the country to test first responders and incident management. In the past four years, Arizona has conducted dozens of tabletops and full-scale training exercises, including four statewide exercises involving thousands of first responders, volunteers (Citizen Corps, etc.) and members of the private sector. Additionally, in 2004 alone, homeland security grants funded the training of 3,000 emergency responders across the state on topics ranging from incident management and handling hazardous materials to evacuating special needs populations during emergencies.
- Target Hardening and Critical Infrastructure. Arizona ’s Threat and Vulnerability Assessment teams work with both the private and public sectors to evaluate potential terrorist targets, determine their risk and vulnerabilities and make recommendations on what additional security measures might be needed.
In addition to the homeland security advances made at the local and state levels with federal funding, Arizona has led efforts to improve preparedness and response efforts through a strengthening of relationships within the state, with neighboring states and with Mexico:
- Established Mutual Aid Agreements among all 15 counties in Arizona and with neighboring states, and sister-city agreements between Arizona-Mexico border cities to more readily share resources during disasters.
- First state in the nation to conduct a bi-national border security exercise with Mexico.
- Formalized agreements with California, New Mexico and Texas to share intelligence information and to conduct joint exercises involving their state fusion centers.
- Joined with Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to form the Four Corners Initiative, a first of its kind homeland security collaboration among four state, 15 counties and five tribal nations. This partnership has been formed to further coordinate response and preparedness efforts in the region.
Arizona is one of five states to receive national recognition through the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) for emergency preparedness that meets or exceeds national standards. To achieve this accreditation, Arizona documented compliance with 54 national standards in 15 functional areas, including: planning and procedures; resource management; training; exercise; evaluations and corrective actions; and communications and warning at both the local and state levels. Arizona was the second state in the nation to receive EMAP accreditation. |
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