DHS Projects Protect Industry, Residents, Responders

PRESS RELEASE
September 8, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact: Bernie Weisenfeld- PIO

Critical Gloucester County industries, the county’s residents and the men and women who are sent to the scenes of disasters first, all have become better protected through homeland security projects undertaken in the decade since Sept. 11, 2001.

The training and equipment ranging from surveillance cameras to newly-available industrial locations for SWAT team drills is especially needed in Gloucester County, which has been identified as having a high number of potential private-sector targets for terrorists. The county is home to two oil refineries, chemical plants and soon a new cargo shipping port on the Delaware River.

A total of $6.88 million in federal Department of Homeland Security funding for safety features such as a marine patrol boat and automated license plate readers to help police on patrol detect stolen vehicles and fugitives has largely been channeled through the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, after assessing needs and preparing applications for DHS funds.

“There has been a significant upgrade in our preparedness for critical incidents,” said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton. “We have received tremendous cooperation from businesses which operate much of what is considered the
county’s critical infrastructure. While public funding for various projects and equipment is vital, our security upgrades would not have been possible without the relationship we’ve built between law enforcement and the private sector in the years since 9-11.”

Solvay Solexis, Inc., a polymer manufacturer in West Deptford, spent about $1 million immediately after 9-11 to upgrade security on its own, and soon after had additional surveillance cameras installed at Homeland Security expense, company human resources manager Charles Jones said. “DHS installed the perimeter cameras looking outward to protect the facility’s buffer zone,” he said. “The cameras were focused on surveillance around the perimeter of the facility.” The cameras were again upgraded in 2010 as part of an infrastructure protection grant from the DHS.

“The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office is our liaison to the DHS and thankfully we have the people in the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office available to help us obtain the grants and coordinate the projects,” Jones said.

The means to detect dangers quickly has been part of the county’s upgrades. Approximately 100 security cameras focused on private and public facilities now transmit images through a new microwave system directly to a 9-1-1 emergency management center.

On the water, the DHS-funded 2008 acquisition of a 20-foot Zodiac inflatable patrol boat has added to preparedness on the Delaware River. The shallow-draft watercraft, powered by a 115 HP outboard engine, supplements larger Coast Guard and New Jersey Marine Police vessels along Gloucester County’s 26 miles of shoreline, occupied by more than a dozen critical infrastructure sites. The Zodiac can also be trailered to other waterways to assist in emergencies.

And in an effort to improve preparedness for acts of terrorism and other catastrophic events, Prosecutor Dalton in 2004 formed a public-private partnership of law enforcement and private industry security officials. Initially comprised of Gloucester County members, it expanded in 2005 to include counterparts in Salem County. Praised by state and federal counter-terrorism and law enforcement officials for creating new working relationships, the Gloucester-Salem Security Initiative has met monthly since its founding.

New Jersey Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness Director Charles McKenna spoke of the need for public-private cooperation during a 2010 meeting of the Security Initiative and the Camden Corporate Watch.

“If we’re going to be truly effective, we not only have to share with law enforcement, but we have to share with the private sector,” \McKenna said. The reason: “More than 80 percent or more of the critical infrastructure in this state is in the hands of the private sector,” he said. “We recognize the private sector as a strategic partner in helping us complete our mission.”

One of the byproducts of the Gloucester-Salem initiative is the opening of industrial plant sites to the county SWAT and Emergency Response teams to practice responses to active shooter and other incidents in a real-life setting. The SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) unit also has benefited from DHS grants to acquire an armored personnel truck and a camera-equipped robot that are used in high-risk incidents such as hostage-takings and barricaded individuals.

At Prosecutor Dalton’s direction, GCPO personnel also conducted training of most non-law enforcement municipal and county workers who are traveling during their workdays, encouraging them to recognize and report suspicious activities. The “Gloucester County On Patrol” program is intended to sharpen the observation skills of workers and encourage them to report what they see on their vehicle radios.